Integrated circuit for use in a playback apparatus

ABSTRACT

A machine readable disc in which a machine readable application program, a digital stream, and management information including plural pieces of play list information which define playback paths of the digital stream are recorded. The machine readable application program is readable by a virtual machine included in a machine. A life cycle during which the machine readable application program can be read and executed by the virtual machine is specified. The management information includes information that indicates a predetermined piece of play list information, among plural pieces of play list information, which defines a playback path of the digital stream that is played back by a playback control engine included in the machine during the life cycle, simultaneously with the execution of the machine readable application program.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/241,517, filed Sep. 30, 2008, which is a continuation ofpending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/549,318, filed Sep. 16,2005, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,565,062 on Jul. 21, 2009, which is aU.S. National Stage Patent Application of PCT/JP2004/016598, filed Nov.9, 2004, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. The International Application was notpublished under PCT Article 21(2) in English.

This application claims priority of Japanese Patent Application Nos.2003-380464, filed Nov. 10, 2003 and 2004-261376, filed Sep. 8, 2004,the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a field of application controltechnology for controlling execution of applications in a virtualmachine, and more specifically to an applied technology for applying thecontrol technology to a recording medium such as BD-ROM used fordistributing a movie work, and applying it to a BD-ROM playbackapparatus.

BACKGROUND ART

The application control technology, such as the Java™ programming, forvirtual machines has been widespread in the personal computer softwareindustry. Currently, how the Java (Registered Trademark, herein after ™)programming, as a development from personal computer software, can beused to achieve playback control in BD-ROM (Blu-ray Disc Read OnlyMemory) playback apparatuses is studied eagerly.

As a conventional technology in regards with a similar playbackapparatus, the technology recited in the following Patent Document 1 isknown.

-   Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2813245

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The Problems the Invention is Going to Solve

Meanwhile, the operation of applications created by the Java™programming is unstable, the operation status changing depending on theresource use status and the load of CPU. Therefore, it often happensthat a shortage of, resource occurs, which causes a start-up failure ofan application or causes an application to terminate abnormally,resulting a black-out of the apparatus. This may not be regarded as aserious problem in the personal computer software industry. In the fieldof manufacturing consumer products such as BD-ROM playback apparatus,however, such phenomenon may be regarded a quality problem. For thisreason, many makers hesitated to achieve the apparatus control by theJava™ programming. (Note: the black-out means such a status in whichsoftware in the apparatus freezes and the display screen turns black)

It is the object of the present invention to provide a recording mediumthat can achieve a Fail Safe when an application that controls therecording medium terminates abnormally, or when a start-up failure ofthe application occurs.

Means to Solve the Problems

The above object is fulfilled by a recording medium in which anapplication, a digital stream, and management information are recorded,wherein the application is a program that is written in a programminglanguage for a virtual machine, a life cycle during which theapplication can be executed by the virtual machine is specified, and themanagement information indicates a playback control of the digitalstream that is performed during the life cycle simultaneously with theexecution of the application.

Effects of the Invention

According to the recording medium of the present invention, with thearrangement of defining, for each life cycle, the playback control ofthe digital stream, which is to be performed simultaneously with theexecution of the application, if a start-up failure of the applicationoccurs or if the application terminates abnormally in the middle of theexecution of the application, the simultaneously performed playback ofthe digital stream is continued, which provides the status in which“something is displayed on the screen”. With such an arrangement, theworst case scenario that the apparatus blacks out can be avoided. Thisgives a minimum sense of assurance to the maker of the apparatus.

Such provision of the sense of assurance will strongly push the makerswho are nervous about the quality problem toward the development of theplayback apparatus control by the Java™ application. With such a strongpush, the playback apparatus will become less expensive and more varied,and then the contents of the BD-ROM will be enriched, which willstrongly lead the contents-related industry in the growth.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows a use form of the playback apparatus of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 shows a file/directory structure for BD-ROM.

FIG. 3 shows the construction of the PlayList information.

FIG. 4 shows relationships between the AVClip time axis and the PL timeaxis.

FIG. 5 shows a batch specification achieved by fourClip_information_file_names.

FIG. 6 shows the internal structure of the PL Mark information.

FIG. 7 shows definition of chapters by PL Marks.

FIG. 8 shows the internal structure of SubPath information.

FIG. 9 shows how the synchronization specification and definition of aplayback period on the SubPlayItem time axis are done.

FIG. 10 shows the internal structure of Movie Object.

FIG. 11 shows the internal structure of BD-J Object.

FIG. 12A shows the programs and data stored in the Java™ archive files.

FIG. 12B shows the internal structure of the class file.

FIG. 13 shows the status change in a disc content.

FIG. 14 shows two Titles that are composed of dynamic scenarios in theHDMV mode.

FIG. 15 shows the internal structure of Title composed of the dynamicscenario in the BD-J mode (BD-J Object).

FIG. 16 shows a Title that does not include the PlayList ManagementTable.

FIG. 17 shows a branch from a Title in the HDMV mode to a Title in theBD-J mode.

FIG. 18 shows a branch from a Title in the BD-J mode to a Title in theHDMV mode.

FIG. 19 shows the internal structure of the index.bdmv.

FIG. 20A shows the internal structure of the application managementtable.

FIG. 20B shows the meaning of the information elements that constitutethe application management table.

FIG. 21A shows the time axis of the entire disc.

FIG. 21B shows how the time axis is structured.

FIGS. 22A and 22B show, in the time axis of the entire BD-ROM, Titleplayback periods that are identified by a BD-J Object that is identifiedby the identifier “bobj_id”.

FIG. 23 shows a typical life cycle defined in the time axis shown inFIG. 22B.

FIG. 24 shows a disc content that includes three Titles: a main Title;an online shopping Title; and a game Title.

FIGS. 25A and 25B show examples of the application management table andthe life cycle.

FIG. 26 shows combinations of the three run attributes (Present,AutoRun, and Suspend) and three possible statuses of the previous Title(Not Run, Running, and Suspend).

FIG. 27A shows the internal structure of the PlayList management table.

FIG. 27B shows the meaning of the information elements that constitutethe PlayList management table.

FIG. 28 shows six combinations of three possible statuses of the branchdestination Title ((i) Not having PlayList management table, (ii) HavingPlayList management table and AutoPlay, and (iii) Having PlayListmanagement table and Present) and two possible statuses of the PL in theprevious Title (Not being played back, and Being played back).

FIG. 29A shows description examples of the PlayList management table andthe application management table.

FIG. 29B shows how the PlayLists are played back and the applicationsare executed based on the PlayList and application management tablesthat are written as shown in FIG. 29A.

FIG. 30A shows an example of the description of the PlayList managementtable.

FIG. 30B shows how the PlayLists are played back and the applicationsare executed based on the case shown in FIG. 30A.

FIGS. 31A to 31C show relationships between the PlayList time axis andthe Title playback periods.

FIG. 32 shows the internal structure of the playback apparatus of thepresent invention.

FIG. 33 shows, in the layer structure, the hardware and the softwarestored in the CPU 24.

FIG. 34 is an illustration of the processes performed by thepresentation engine 31 to the module manager 34.

FIG. 35 shows the process performed by the application manager 36.

FIG. 36 shows the user event manager 37 to the default operation manager40.

FIG. 37 shows the internal structure of the Java™ virtual machine 39.

FIG. 38 shows the four modes of application termination.

FIG. 39 is a flowchart showing procedures of the application manager 36.

FIG. 40 shows specific examples of the PlayList management table and theapplication management table.

FIG. 41A shows the internal structure of the BD-J Object in Embodiment2.

FIG. 41B shows the internal structure of the error management table.

FIG. 42 shows the meaning of the five flags in the error managementtable.

FIG. 43A shows two Titles (Title #1, Title #2) in which the errormanagement table is written.

FIG. 43B shows the progress of an execution of an application and aplayback of a PlayList that are performed in accordance with theapplication and error management tables shown in FIG. 43A.

FIG. 44 is a flowchart that shows the procedures of the applicationmanager 36 in Embodiment 2.

FIG. 45 is a flowchart that shows the procedures of the applicationmanager 36 in Embodiment 2.

FIG. 46 is a flowchart that shows the procedures of the notification bythe application manager 36.

FIG. 47 is a flowchart that shows the procedures of the applicationmanager 36 in Embodiment 3.

FIG. 48A shows the contents of the selection algorithm based on theparental level.

FIG. 48B shows the contents of the selection algorithm based on Languagefor Audio.

FIG. 48C shows the contents of the selection algorithm based on PlayerConfiguration for Video.

FIG. 49 is an illustration of the process in which the Title unboundaryapplication selects PLs.

FIG. 50 is a flowchart showing the PL playback procedure performed bythe playback control engine 32.

FIG. 51 is a flowchart showing the angle change procedure and theprocedure for SkipBack/SkipNext.

FIG. 52 is a flowchart showing the process procedure that is executedwhen it is judged that the SkipBack/SkipNext API was called.

FIG. 53 is a flowchart that shows the process procedure of thepresentation engine 31 in detail.

FIG. 54 is a flowchart showing the process procedure of the SubPlayItem.

DESCRIPTION OF CHARACTERS

-   1 BD-ROM drive-   2 read buffer-   3 demultiplexer-   4 video decoder-   5 video plane-   6 P-graphics decoder-   7 presentation graphics plane-   8 combining unit-   9 font generator-   10 I-graphics decoder-   11 switch-   12 interactive graphics plane-   13 combining unit-   14 CLUT unit-   15 CLUT unit-   16 audio decoder-   22 user event processing unit-   23 PSR set-   24 CPU-   25 scenario memory-   26 local memory-   33 HDMV module-   34 module manager-   35 BD-J module-   36 application manager-   37 UO controller-   38 Java™ virtual machine-   41 PLMT processor-   42 permission controller-   52 user class loader-   53 method area-   54 work memory-   55 a, 55 b, . . . 55 n threads-   56 a, 56 b, . . . 56 n Java™ stacks

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiment 1

The following describes embodiments of the recording medium of thepresent invention. First, the use form of the recording medium of thepresent invention will be described. In FIG. 1, the recording medium ofthe present invention is a BD-ROM 100. The BD-ROM 100 is used forproviding contents to a home theater system that is composed of aplayback apparatus 200, a remote control 300, and a television 400.

Of these, the remote control 300 is provided with keys such as Play,Stop, Pause On, Pause Off, Still Off, Forward Play (with specificationof the speed), Backward Play (with specification of the speed), AudioChange, SubTitle Change, and Angle Change that are used to receiveinstructions for these functions, Move Up, Move Down, Move Right, andMove Left that are used to receive instructions for moving the focusduring a menu operation, Pop Up that is used to receive an instructionfor displaying a menu, and Numeric keys that are used to receive numericinputs.

Up to now, the use form of the recording medium of the present inventionhas been described.

The following describes the manufacturing of the recording medium of thepresent invention. The recording medium of the present invention can beachieved as an improvement in a file system on a BD-ROM. FIG. 2 shows afile/directory structure for BD-ROM. As FIG. 2 indicates, for BD-ROM,the BDMV directory is provided under the root directory.

The BDMV directory has files to which extension “bdmv” has been attached(“index.bdmv”, “Movie Object.bdmv”, “BD-JObject.bdmv”). Under the BDMVdirectory, there are four sub-directories: PLAYLIST, CLIPNF, STREAM, andBDJA directories. The PLAYLIST directory has files to which extension“mpls” has been attached (“00001 mpls”, “00002.mpls”, “00003.mpls”).

The CLIPNF directory has files to which extension “clpi” has beenattached (“00001.clpi”, “00002.clpi”, “00003.clpi”). The STREAMdirectory has files to which extension “m2ts” has been attached(“00001.m2ts”, “00002.m2ts”, “00003.m2ts”). The BDJA directory has filesto which extension “jar” has been attached (“00001.jar”, “00002.jar”,“00003.jar”). As understood from the above description, the directorystructure enables different types of files to be recorded on a BD-ROM.

In FIG. 2, the files to which extension “m2ts” has been attached(“00001.m2ts”, “00002.m2ts”, “00003.m2ts”, . . . ) contain AVClips thatare classified into types such as MainClip and SubClip. A MainClip is adigital stream that is obtained by multiplexing a plurality ofelementary streams such as a video stream, an audio stream, apresentation graphics stream (PG stream) that constitutes a subTitle,and an interactive graphics stream (IG stream) that constitutes a menu.

A SubClip is a digital stream that corresponds to one elementary streamsuch as an audio stream, a graphics stream, and a text subTitle stream(TextSTStream). The files to which extension “clpi” has been attached(“00001.clpi”, “00002.clpi”, “00003.clpi”, . . . ) are managementinformation that corresponds to the AVClips on a one-to-one basis. TheClip information, as the management information, has informationregarding the encoding format of the streams in the AVClip, a framerate, a bit rate, a resolution and the like, and “EP_map” that indicatesa starting position of a GOP.

The files to which extension “mpls” has been attached (“00001.mpls”,“00002.mpls”, “00003.mpls”, . . . ) are files that contain PlayListinformation. The PlayList information is information that defines aPlayList by referring to an AVClip. FIG. 3 shows the construction of thePlayList information. As shown on the left-hand side of FIG. 3, thePlayList information is composed of MainPath, PL Mark, and SubPathinformation.

The MainPath information (MainPath( )) contains a plurality of pieces ofPlayItem information (PlayItem( )) as indicated by the dotted line arrow“mp1”. The PlayItem is a playback period that is defined by specifying“In_time” and “Out_time” on one or more AVClip time axes. An arrangementof a plurality of pieces of PlayItem information defines a PlayList (PL)that is composed of a plurality of playback periods. The dotted linearrow “mp2” in FIG. 3 indicates a closeup of the internal structure ofthe PlayItem information. As shown in FIG. 3, the PlayItem informationis composed of “Clip_information_file_name” that indicates acorresponding AVClip, “In_time”, and “Out_time”. FIG. 4 showsrelationships between an AVClip and a PL. The first row of the figureindicates the time axis of the AVClip, and the second row indicates thetime axis of the PL. The PL information includes three pieces ofPlayItem information: “PlayItem #1”, “PlayItem #2”, and “PlayItem #3”.The In_times and Out_times of PlayItem #1, #2, and #3 define threeplayback periods. By arranging the three playback periods, a time axisthat is different from the AVClip time axis is defined. That is the PLtime axis shown in the second row. As apparent from this, it ispossible, by defining the PlayItem information, to define a time axisthat is different from an AVClip time axis.

Basically, only one AVClip is specified. However, a plurality of AVClipsmay be specified by a batch specification. The batch specification isachieved by a plurality of Clip_information_file_names in the PlayIteminformation. FIG. 5 shows a batch specification achieved by fourClip_information_file_names. In FIG. 5, the first to fourth rowsindicate four AVClip time axes (time axes of AVClip #1, #2, #3, and #4),and the fifth row indicates a PL time axis. The four time axes arespecified by the four Clip_information_file_names contained in thePlayItem information. With such a construction, four playback periods,which can be selectably played back, are defined by the In_times andOut_times contained in the PlayItems. This enables the PL time axis todefine a period (what is called a multi-angle period) in which aplurality of switchable angle images are provided.

The PLMark information (PL Mark( )) is information that specifies, as achapter, a given period on the PL time axis. FIG. 6 shows the internalstructure of the PL Mark information. As the leadline “pm1” in thisfigure indicates, the PL Mark information contains “ref_to_PlayItem_Id”and “Mark_time_stamp”. FIG. 7 shows definition of chapters by PL Marks.In FIG. 7, the first row indicates an AVClip time axis, and the secondrow indicates a PL time axis. In FIG. 7, arrows “pk1” and “pk2” eachindicate a specification of a PlayItem (ref_to_PlayItem_Id) and aspecification of a point in time (mark_time_stamp) in a PL Mark. Withthese specifications, three chapters are defined on the PL time axis. Upto now, the PL Mark has been explained. The following describes theSubPath information.

The SubPath information (SubPath( )) is information that defines one ormore playback periods by specifying In_Time and Out_Time on the SubCliptime axis. FIG. 8 shows the internal structure. As the dotted lead line“sh1” in FIG. 8 indicates, the SubPath information is composed of aplurality of pieces of SubPlayItem information (SubPlayItem ( )). As thedotted line “sh2” indicates, The SubPlayItem information is composed of“Clip_information_file_name”, “In_time”, “Out_time”, “Sync_PlayItem_Id”,and “Sync_start_Pts_of_PlayItem”. The In_Time and Out_Time on theSubClip time axis are specified by “Clip_information_file_name”,“In_time”, and “Out_time”. The “Sync_PlayItem_Id” and“Sync_start_Pts_of_PlayItem” are used for a synchronizationspecification to synchronize a playback period on the SubClip time axiswith the PL time axis. With the synchronization specification, theSubClip time axis and the PL time axis proceed in synchronization.

FIG. 9 shows how the synchronization specification and definition of aplayback period on the SubPlayItem time axis are done. In FIG. 9, thefirst row indicates the PL time axis, and the second row indicates theSubPlayItem time axis. In FIG. 9, SubPlayItem. In_time and SubPlayItem.Out_time respectively indicate the start point and end point of theplayback period. It is understood from this that the playback period isdefined also on the SubClip time axis. The Sync_PlayItem_Idcorresponding to the arrow Sn1 indicates the synchronizationspecification for a PlayItem, and Sync_start_Pts_of_PlayItemcorresponding to the arrow sn2 indicates specification of a point intime in the PlayItem on the PL time axis.

The PlayList information in BD-ROM is characterized by its ability todefine a multi-angle period and a synchronization period, whereswitching among a plurality of AVClips is possible in the multi-angleperiod, and having an AVClip synchronized with a SubClip is possible inthe synchronization period. The above-described Clip information andPlayList Information are categorized as “static scenario”. This isbecause the Clip information and PlayList Information define a PL thatis a static playback unit. This completes the description of the staticscenario.

The following describes the “dynamic scenario”. The dynamic scenario isscenario data that dynamically defines the playback control of anAVClip. Here, “dynamically” means that the playback control can changein accordance with a status change of the playback apparatus or a keyevent from the user. BD-ROM presumes two modes as the operationenvironment for the playback control. The first mode is an operationenvironment similar to the operation environment of the DVD playbackapparatus, and is a command-based execution environment. The second modeis an operation environment of the Java™ Virtual Machine. Of these twooperation environments, the first one is called HDMV mode, and thesecond one is called BD-J mode. Due to the presence of the two operationenvironments, the dynamic scenario is written by presuming either of thetwo operation environments. The dynamic scenario presuming the HDMV modeis called Movie Object, and is defined by the management information. Onthe other hand, the dynamic scenario presuming the BD-J mode is called aBD-J Object.

First, the Movie Object will be explained.

<Movie Object>

The Movie Object is stored in a file “Movie Object.bdmv”.

FIG. 10 shows the internal structure of Movie Object.bdmv. As shown inthe leftmost portion of FIG. 10, Movie Object.bdmv is composed of“type_indicater” indicating code sequence “MOBJ”, “version_number”, and“Movie Objects ( )” that are one or more Movie Objects. The lead linevh1 in FIG. 10 indicates a closeup of the internal structure of theMovie Objects. The “Movie Objects( )” is composed of “length” indicatingthe data length of its own, “number_of_mobjs” indicating the number ofMovie Object contained therein, and as many Movie Objects as indicatedby the number_of_mobjs. The Movie Objects whose number is indicated bythe number_of_mobjs are identified by the identifier mobj_id. The leadline vh2 in FIG. 10 indicates a closeup of the internal structure of agiven Movie Object[mobj_id] ( ) identified by the identifier mobj_id.

As indicated by the lead line, the Movie Object is composed of:“resume_intention_flag” that indicates whether or not the playbackshould be resumed after a MenuCall is performed; “menu_call_mask” thatis information indicating whether or not the MenuCall should be masked;“Title_search_flag” indicating whether or not the Title search functionshould be masked; “number_of_navigation_command” indicating the numberof navigation commands; and as many navigation commands as indicated bythe “number_of_navigation_command”.

The navigation command sequence is composed of commands that achieve: aconditional branch; setting the status register in the playbackapparatus; acquiring a value set in the status register, and so on. Thefollowing are the commands that can be written in the Movie Objects.

PlayPL Command

Format: PlayPL (1^(st) argument, 2^(nd) argument)

As the 1^(st) argument, a PlayList number can be used to indicate a PLto be played back. As the 2^(nd) argument, a PlayItem contained in thePL, a given time in the PL, a Chapter, or a Mark can be used to indicatea playback start position.

A PlayPL function that specifies a playback start position on the PLtime axis using a PlayItem is called Play PL at PlayItem( ).

A PlayPL function that specifies a playback start position on the PLtime axis using a Chapter is called Play PL at Chapter( ).

A PlayPL function that specifies a playback start position on the PLtime axis using time information is called Play PL at SpecifiedTime( ).

JMP Command

Format: JMP argument

The JMP command is used for a branch that discards a currently executeddynamic scenario and executes a branch destination dynamic scenario thatis specified by the argument. The JMP command has two types: a directreference type that directly specifies the branch destination dynamicscenario; and an indirect reference type that indirectly refers to thebranch destination dynamic scenario.

The description format of the navigation command in the Movie Objectresembles that in DVD. For this reason, a transplant of a disc contentfrom a DVD onto a BD-ROM can be done efficiently. The Movie Object is aprior art disclosed in the following International Publication. Fordetails, refer to the International Publication.

International Publication WO 2004/074976.

Up to now, the Movie Object has been described. The following willdescribe the BD-J. Object.

<BD-J Object>

The BD-J Object is a dynamic scenario in the BD-J mode, written in aJava™ programming environment.

FIG. 11 shows the internal structure of BD-J. Object.bdmv. As shown inthe leftmost portion of FIG. 11, BD-J. Object.bdmv is composed of“type_indicater” indicating code sequence “BOBJ”, “version_number”, and“BD-J Objects( )” that are one or more BD-J. Objects. The lead line“bh1” in FIG. 11 indicates a closeup of the internal structure of theBD-J Objects( ). The “BD-J Objects( )” is composed of “length”indicating the data length of its own, “number_of_bobjs” indicating thenumber of BD-J Objects contained therein, and as many BD-J Objects asindicated by the number_of_bobjs. The BD-J Objects whose number isindicated by the number_of_bobjs are identified by the identifierbobj_id. The lead line bh2 in FIG. 11 indicates a closeup of theinternal structure of a given BD-J Object[bob_id]( ) identified by theidentifier bobj_id.

As shown in this figure with the indication by the lead line, the BD-JObject is composed of “resume_intention_flag[bobj_id]”,“menu_call_mask[bobj_id]”, “Title_search_flag[bobj_id]”,“Application_Management_Table[bobj_id]”, and“Playlist_Management_Table[bobj_id]”. The BD-J Object is approximatelythe same as the Movie Object in that it includes“resume_intention_flag”, “menu_call_mask”, and “Title_search_flag”.

The difference from the Movie Object is that a command is not writtendirectly in the BD-J. Object. That is to say, in the Movie Object, thecontrol procedure is written directly in the navigation commands. Incontrast, the BD-J Object indirectly defines the control procedure byallowing a specification for a Java™ application to be written in“Application_Management_Table[bobj_id]”. Such an indirect definitionprovides an efficient sharing of a common control procedure, allowing aplurality of dynamic scenarios to share a common control procedure.

Also, in the Movie Object, a PL playback is performed in accordance witha navigation command (PlayPl command) written in the Movie Object,instructing to perform the PL playback. In contrast, in the BD-J Object,“Application_Management_Table[bobj_id]”, which indicates the PL playbackprocedure, is incorporated in the BD-J Object, enabling the PL playbackprocedure to be written. And what is more, the PL playback procedure canbe written also by incorporating the PL playback procedure into theapplication that is referred to from the application management table.That is to say, it is possible to incorporate the PlayList playbackprocedure either by writing it in the PlayList management table or bywriting it in the application.

Here, the Java™ application will be described. A Java™ applicationincludes one or more xlet programs that are loaded in the heap area(also called work memory) of the virtual machine. The Java™ applicationis composed of the xlet programs and data. Up to now, the constructionof the Java™ application has been described.

The substantial body of the Java™ application is Java (™) archive files(00001.jar, 00002.jar) that are stored in the BDJA directory under theBDMV directory shown in FIG. 2. The following describes the Java™archive files with reference to FIGS. 12A and 12B.

<Java™ Archive Files>

The Java™ archive files (00001.jar, 00002.jar shown in FIG. 2) are eachformed by combining one or more class files and one or more data filesinto one. FIG. 12A shows the programs and data stored in the archivefiles. The data shown in FIG. 12A has been configured by the Java™archiver by arranging a plurality of files into the directory structureindicated by the oval frames. The directory structure indicated by theoval frames is composed of the Root, Java™, and image directories. Thecommon.pkg is arranged to be under the Root directory, the class files(aaa.class, bbb.class) are arranged to be under the Java™ directory, andmenu.jpg is arranged to be under the image directory. The Java™ archivefiles are each formed by the Java™ archiver by combining such files intoone. Such class files and data are expanded when they are read from theBD-ROM, and are treated as files arranged in the directories. Thefive-digit number “zzzzz” attached to each Java™ archive file nameindicates an application ID. When such a Java (™) archive file has beenread to a cache, it is possible to extract programs and data thatconstitute an arbitrary Java (™) application by referring to the numberattached to the file name. The class files (aaa.class, bbb.class shownin FIG. 12A) are class files that correspond to the above-described xletprogram. The playback procedure in the BD-J mode is defined by the xletprogram that corresponds to the instances of the class files.

The xlet program is a Java™ program that can use an interface conformingto Java™ Media Framework (JMF), and executes processes in correspondencewith key events, in accordance with a format such as JMF. Since it canexecute JMF-format processes, the xlet program can instruct the playbackapparatus to play back a PlayList by generating an instance (JMF playerinstance) that corresponds to an MPLS file. Also, the xlet program caninstruct the BD-ROM playback apparatus to execute processes that areunique to the BD-ROM playback apparatus by writing calls for functionAPIs.

Furthermore, the xlet program can execute a procedure for accessing aWWW site and downloading a content from the site. This enables someinnovative works, which are generated by combining the downloadedcontents with the PlayList playback, to be played back.

The class files of the xlet program will be described. FIG. 12B showsthe internal structure of the class file. As shown in FIG. 12B, theclass file is composed of “constant pool”, “interface”, and “method 1,2, 3, . . . n”. The methods in the class files are classified into: amethod (Event Listner method) with which a key event that triggers anoperation has been registered beforehand; a method (method for a JMFplayer instance) for instructing a JMF playback procedure; and a methodfor calling a function API for the BD-ROM playback apparatus. In thesemethods, procedures for calculations or the like are written using localvariables assigned to themselves or arguments for calling themselves. Upto now, the Java™ archive file has been described. It should be notedhere that although in the present embodiment, programs and data thatconstitute the application are stored in Java™ archive files, suchprograms and data may be stored in LZH files or zip files.

Up to now, dynamic scenario in the BD-J mode has been described.

<Status Change in BD-ROM>

The disc content provided in a read-only disc such as the DVD-Video hasa structure that centers on the top menu. The status change in such adisc content is unique in that the playback branches from the top menuTitle to each Title and then returns to the top menu Title. FIG. 13shows the status change in a disc content. The boxes in FIG. 13represent Titles. Here, each Title is a playback unit that correspondsto a “status” in the status change unique to the disc content. Titlesare classified into: “FirstPlayTitle” that is played back first afterthe BD-ROM is loaded, “Top_menuTitle” that constitutes the top menu, and“Titles” that are general Titles. The arrows jh1, jh2, jh3, jh4, jh5,jh6, jh7, and jh8 in FIG. 23 symbolically indicate branches betweenTitles. According to the status change shown in FIG. 13,“FirstPlayTitle” is played back upon loading of a BD-ROM, a branch to“Top_menuTitle” occurs, and then a selection on the top menu is waitedfor. In the industry of recording media for distributing movies, such asBD-ROM, it is well established that a dynamic trademark is played backupon loading of such a recording medium. The dynamic trademarksymbolizes the producer or distributor of the movie. The FirstPlayTitleplays a role to play back the dynamic trademark immediately after theBD-ROM is loaded.

Then if the user selects a Title on the menu, the selected Title isplayed back. The playback then returns to the Top Menu Title. Such aplayback procedure is repeated again and again until the BD-ROM isejected. This is the status change unique to the disc content.

Title having such a status change is composed of dynamic scenarios inthe HDMV mode or dynamic scenarios in the BD-J mode. FIG. 14 shows twoTitles that are composed of dynamic scenarios in the HDMV mode. Thefirst row of FIG. 14 indicates a Title (Title_id) that is identified byidentifier “Title_id”. The second row indicates a Movie Object sequencethat is composed of one or more Movie Objects that constitute Title. Thethird row indicates a navigation command sequence that constitutes theMovie Objects.

A branch from a Title to another Title as shown in FIG. 13 is achievedby writing in advance a navigation command (JumpTitle command),whichinstructs the playback apparatus to jump to another Title, in a MovieObject. Also, the fourth row of FIG. 14 indicates a PlayList thatbelongs to the Title. This belonging of the PlayList to the Title isachieved by writing in advance a navigation command (PlayPLcommand),which instructs to playback the PlayList, in a Movie Object.

By having a PlayList belong to a Title, it is possible for Title in theHDMV mode to define a movie that is accompanied with a video playback.This is the structure of Title defined by the dynamic scenario in theHDMV mode.

The following describes the internal construction of Title composed ofthe dynamic scenario in the BD-J mode. FIG. 15 shows the internalstructure of Title composed of the dynamic scenario in the BD-J mode(BD-J Object).

The first row indicates a Title that is identified by identifier“Title_id”. The second row indicates the only BD-J Object thatconstitutes the Title. The third row indicates application managementtable and PlayList Management Table that are provided in the BD-J.Object. The fourth row indicates an application that is to be operatedby the application management table in the third row. This applicationincludes a method (a method that calls JumpTitleAPI) that instructs theplayback apparatus to jump to another Title, as indicated in the fifthrow. As a result, the branch to another Title as shown in FIG. 13 isachieved by the JumpTitleAPI call method. On the other hand, since thePlayList Management Table is written in the third row, a PlayList isplayed back at the same time as the application is executed, asindicated in the fourth row.

The BD-J Object includes the application management table and PlayListManagement Table. This enables the PL playback to be executedsimultaneously with the execution of the application as indicated in thefourth row. Such a simultaneous execution of the application and PLplayback is a characteristic of Title in the BD-J mode.

Not all BD-J Objects include the PlayList Management Table. The PlayListManagement Table is an arbitrary component. Some BD-J Objects includethe PlayList Management Table, and others doe not. FIG. 16 shows a Titlethat does not include the PlayList Management Table. In such a BD-JObject that includes only the application management table but not thePlayList Management Table, only the application operation is defined asindicated in the fourth row. With such a definition of the applicationoperation, a Title, which has only the control procedure and is notaccompanied with a PL playback, is defined.

FIG. 14 shows a branch from a Title in the HDMV mode to a Title in theHDMV mode. It should be noted however that a branch from a Title in theHDMV mode to a Title in the BD-J mode is also possible as shown in FIG.17. Similarly, although FIG. 15 shows a branch from a Title in the BD-Jmode to a Title in the BD-J mode, a branch from a Title in the BD-J modeto a Title in the HDMV mode is also possible as shown in FIG. 18.

In the above-described internal structure of Title, the Movie Objects orBD-J Objects that constitute a Title are defined by the index.bdmv shownin FIG. 2. The following describes the index.bdmv.

The index.bdmv is a table that indicates the Movie Objects or BD-JObjects that constitute a Title.

FIG. 19 shows the internal structure of the index.bdmv. As shown in FIG.19, the index.bdmvis composed of “type_indicator” that has a value“INDX”, “version_number”, “Indexes_start_address” that indicates arelative address from the start of the file to the Indexes, and“Indexes( )”. The “Indexes( )” respectively correspond to Titles. As thedotted line arrow “ix1” in FIG. 19 indicates, the “Indexes( )” iscomposed of “length”, “FirstPlayback( ){FirstPlayback_mobj_id_ref}”,“TopMenu( ) {TopMenu_mobj_id_ref}”, “number_of_Titles”, and “Title[0]( ). . . Title[number_of_Titles-1]( )”.

The “FirstPlayback( ) {FirstPlayback_mobj_id_ref}” is the Index of theFirstPlayTitle, and stores a Movie Object identifier reference value fora Movie Object that constitutes the FirstPlayTitle(FirstPlayback_mobj_id_ref). The “TopMenu( ) {TopMenu_mobj_id_ref}” isthe Index of the TopMenuTitle, and stores a Movie Object identifierreference value for a Movie Object that constitutes the TopMenuTitle(TopMenu_mobj_id_ref).

The “Title[0] ( ) . . . Title[number_of_Titles-1] ( )” are the Indexesof Titles other than the FirstPlayTitle and TopMenuTitle, and there areas many of them as indicated by the number_of_Title. The “Title[0] ( ) .. . Title[number_of_Titles-1] ( )” are identified by the identifierTitle_id.

An index identified by the identifier Title_id is represented asTitle[Title_id] ( ). The lead line ix2 in FIG. 19 indicates a closeup ofTitle[Title_id]( ).

As shown in FIG. 19, the “Title[Title_id] ( )” is composed of:“Title_Playback_Type[Title_id]” that indicates a Title playback typewhich is shown by, for example, whether or not the “Title[Title_id]”contains a branch; “Title_access_Flag[Title_id]” that indicates whetheror not the execution of a service function for Title is permitted; and“Title_mobj_id_ref[Title_id]” that uniquely indicates Movie Objects thatconstitute the Title. Here, if the dynamic scenarios that constituteTitle are BD-J Objects, “Title_mobj_id_ref[Title_id]” is replaced with“Title_bobj_id_ref[Title_id]”. The “Title_bobj_id_ref[Title_id]”uniquely indicates BD-J Objects that constitute the Title.

The Index.bdmv is disclosed in detail in the following InternationalPublication. For details, refer to the International Publication.

International Publication WO 2004/025651 A1.

<Application Management Table>

The application management table and the PlayList management tableincluded in the BD-J Object table are the main elements of the presentembodiment. These tables will be described in detail. First, theapplication management table (AMT) will be described.

FIG. 20A shows the internal structure of the application managementtable. As shown in FIG. 20A, the application management table iscomposed of “life_cycle”, “apli_id_ref”, “run_attribute”, and“run_priority”.

FIG. 20B shows the meaning of the information elements that constitutethe application management table.

The “life_cycle” indicates a “life cycle” of the application.

The “apli_id_ref” indicates, by a reference value written therein incorrespondence with the “application identifier”, the application thathas the above-mentioned life cycle. The application identifier isrepresented by a five-digit value “zzzzz” that is provided in the Java™archive file as the file name. The five-digit value is written in the“apli_id_ref”.

The “run_attribute” indicates the run attribute of the applicationduring the life cycle. The run attribute is classified into: AutoRun,Present, and Suspend.

The “run_priority” indicates the “run priority” of the applicationduring the life cycle. The BD-J Object controls the operation of theapplication using these pieces of information.

<Life Cycle>

The life cycle, which is defined in the application management table,will be described.

The life cycle means a cycle during which an application lives on thework memory of the virtual machine, and is represented with the timeaxis of the entire contents of the BD-ROM. Here, the term “live” refersto the state where the xlet programs constituting the application havebeen loaded in the work memory such that the application can be executedby the virtual machine.

When an application is run on a Java™ Virtual Machine, it is importantto clearly define, on the time axis, the start and end points of aservice by the application. These start and end points of a service aredefined in the “life_cycle” of the application management table.

The following shows how Title life cycle is defined with regards to suchdisc contents that change the status as shown in FIG. 13. Suppose thatafter the BD-ROM is loaded, branches are made in the ascending order ofthe numbers indicated by the arrows jh1, jh2, jh3, jh4, . . . in FIG.13, and the BD-ROM is ejected. The continuous time band starting withthe loading and ending with the ejection of the BD-ROM can be regardedas one time axis. The time axis is defined as the time axis of theentire disc. FIG. 21A shows the time axis of the entire disc. FIG. 21Bshows how the time axis is structured. As shown in FIG. 21B, the timeaxis of the entire disc is composed of: a period during which theFirstPlayTitle is played back; a period during which the FirstPlayTitleis played back; a period during which the TopMenuTitle is played back; aperiod during which Title #1 is played back; . . . A Title is composedof one or more Movie Objects or one BD-J. Object. Therefore, theplayback period of each Title can be defined as a period during whichany of the Movie Objects or BD-J Object is activated.

That is to say, the FirstPlayTitle, TopMenuTitle, and other Titles areeach composed of dynamic scenarios. Therefore, the playback period ofeach Title can be defined as a period during which any of the MovieObjects or BD-J Object, which constitute Title, is activated as acurrent Movie Object or a current BD-J Object, and is decoded andexecuted within the playback apparatus. FIG. 22A shows, in the time axisof the entire BD-ROM, Title playback periods that are identified by aBD-J Object that is identified by the identifier “bobj_id”. Here, if aBD-J Object identified by the identifier “bobj_id” constitutes a Title,a period in the BD-ROM time axis during which the BD-J Object identifiedby the identifier “bobj_id” is activated can be regarded as the playbackperiod of Title.

Similarly, if a Movie Object identified by the identifier “mobj_id”constitutes a Title, a period in the BD-ROM time axis during which theMovie Object identified by the identifier “mobj_id” is activated can beregarded as the playback period of Title.

The period during which a Movie Object or a BD-J Object is activatedlasts until a Title branch (JumpTitle) is performed. That is to say, thedynamic scenario, which is the target of the execution, is treated as acurrent Movie Object or a current BD-J Object until a Title branch(JumpTitle) is performed. As a result, a period that lasts until aJumpTitle occurs in the Movie Object or BD-J Object is treated as aTitle playback period.

The following describes the relationships between Title playback periodand the PL time axis. As described above, in the Movie Object or BD-JObject, the PL playback procedure can be written as a processingprocedure. If a PL playback procedure has been written, all or part ofthe above-described PL time axis belongs to Title playback period.Suppose that a PlayList management table is written in the BD-J Objectin the example shown in FIG. 22A. Then, as shown in FIG. 22B, the PLtime axis belongs to Title playback period that corresponds to the BD-J.Object. Since a plurality of chapters (Chapter #1, #2, #3) can bedefined further to the PL time axis, domains “entireBD-ROM-Title-PL-Chapter” exist in the BD-ROM time axis. It is possibleto write the life cycle of the application by using these domains. Itshould be noted here that since the PlayList playback startedsimultaneously with the execution of the application, a Title branch mayhappen in the middle of the PlayList playback. In such a case, only partof the PlayList time axis, not the entire PlayList time axis, belongs toone Title playback period. That is to say, whether only part of thePlayList time axis or the entire PlayList time axis belongs to one Titleplayback period depends on the time at which a Title branch occurs.

FIG. 23 shows a typical life cycle defined in the time axis shown inFIG. 22B. As shown in FIG. 23, there are three typical applications:Title boundary application whose life cycle is a Title; the Chapterboundary application whose life cycle is a Chapter within a Title; andthe unboundary application whose life cycle is the time axis of theentire BD-ROM.

Of these, the life cycle of a Title boundary application can be definedusing the identifier of Title. Also, the life cycle of a Chapterboundary application can be defined using a combination of: theidentifier of Title to which the Chapter belongs; and the identifier ofthe Chapter.

Even if the platform is operating, it is possible to regain the resourcefrom the application after the life cycle defined as a Title or aChapter ends. Such a construction assures the chance to regain theresource, and thereby stabilizes the operation of the platform.

The following describes how to write the life cycle in the applicationmanagement table, using a specific example which includes a disc contentthat will be achieved in near future, as the material. The disc contentused as the material includes three different types of Titles: a mainTitle (Title #1) that constitutes a main image work; an online shoppingTitle (Title #2) that constitutes an online shopping; and a game Title(Title #3) that constitutes a game application. FIG. 24 shows a disccontent that includes three Titles: a main Title; an online shoppingTitle; and a game Title. The left-hand side of FIG. 24 shows Index.bdmv,and the right-hand side of FIG. 24 shows the three Titles.

The dotted-line frames on the right-hand side of FIG. 24 show belongingrelationships that indicate Titles to which each application belongs. Ofthe three Titles, Title #1 is composed of application #1, application#2, and application #3. Also, Title #2 is composed of application #3 andapplication #4, and Title #3 is composed of application #5. In theexample shown in FIG. 24, the application #3 is run by both Title #1 andTitle #2.

FIG. 25A shows the life cycle of each application, which is drawn basedon the belonging relationships shown by the dotted-line frames of FIG.24. In FIG. 25A, the horizontal axis indicates a Title playback period,and life cycles of applications are arranged in the vertical axisdirection. Here, the application #1 and the application #2 belong onlyto Title #1, and therefore the life cycles of these applications areconfined to Title #1. The application #4 belongs only to Title #2, andtherefore the life cycle of the application #4 is confined to Title #2.The application #5 belongs only to Title #3, and therefore the lifecycle of the application #5 is confined to Title #3. The application #3belongs to Titles #1 and #2, and therefore the life cycle of theapplication #3 extends over Titles #1 and #2. FIG. 25B shows theapplication management tables for Titles #1, #2, and #3 that werewritten based on the life cycles shown in FIG. 25A. After theapplication management tables are written in this way, the application#1, application #2, and application #3 are loaded onto the work memorywhen the playback of Title #1 is started. Then, when the playback ofTitle #2 is started, the applications #1 and #2 are deleted from thework memory, causing only the application #3 to remain. Similarly, it ispossible to perform a control so that the application #4 is loaded ontothe work memory when the playback of Title #2 is started, and that theapplications #3 and #4 are deleted from the work memory when theplayback of Title #3 is started.

Further, it is possible to perform a control so that the application #5is loaded onto the work memory while Title #3 is played back, and thatthe application #5 is deleted from the work memory when the playback ofTitle #3 ends.

With this construction, the number of times the applications are loadedonto the work memory is minimized. This is because if a branch betweenTitles occurs, applications that live in both the branch source andbranch destination may be stored in the work memory, and applicationsthat do not live in the branch source and live in only the branchdestination may be loaded onto the work memory. Such a construction thatdecreases the number of times data is loaded enables an unboundaryapplication, which is such an application that does not make oneconscious about a boundary between Titles, to be achieved.

The following describes the run attributes of the application. The runattributes include: AutoRun indicating that the application with thisattribute is automatically started to run; Present indicating that theapplication with this attribute is not the target of the automatic runbut may be stored in the work memory of the virtual machine; and Suspendindicating that the application with this attribute is stored in thework memory of the virtual machine but is not assigned the CPU power.

When a corresponding Title branches, an application with the “AutoRun”attribute is loaded onto the work memory and is executed. When a Titlebranches to another Title, the management body (application manager)that manages the applications loads an application, which lives in thebranch destination Title and whose run attribute has been set toAutoRun, onto the work memory of the virtual machine, and executes theapplication. This means that the application is automatically started torun as Title branches.

The run attribute “Present” is a continuous attribute, and indicatesthat the status of the application in the branch source Title ismaintained. This is also an attribute that indicates that acorresponding application can be executed. An application whose runattribute is set to “Present” can be called from another application.When an application is called from another application that is beingrun, the management body (application manager) judges whether or not theapplication ID of the application is written in the applicationmanagement table and whether or not the run attribute of the applicationis set to “Present”. If it is set to “Present”, the management bodyloads the application onto the work memory. If the application ID of thecall destination application is not written in the applicationmanagement table, the management body does not load the application ontothe work memory. Only applications whose run attribute is set to“Present” can be called from another application. “Present” is a defaultrun attribute that is assigned when the run attribute is not clearlyspecified. As a result, when the run attribute of an application is “--”indicating no specification, it means that the run attribute of theapplication is “Present”.

“Suspend” indicates that the application with this attribute is assigneda resource but is not assigned the CPU power. The attribute “Suspend” iseffective, for example, in achieving the process of passing a side pathwhile a game Title is executed.

FIG. 26 shows combinations of the three run attributes (Present,AutoRun, and Suspend) and three possible statuses of the previous Title(Not Run, Running, and Suspend). If the previous status is “Not Run” andthe run attribute is “AutoRun”, the application is started in the branchdestination Title.

If the previous status is “Not Run” and the run attribute is “Present”or “Suspend”, no operation is performed, and the status is maintained.

If the previous status is “Running” and the run attribute is “Present”or “AutoRun”, no operation is performed, and the status is maintained.

If the run attribute is set to “Suspend”, the status of the applicationis suspended. If the previous status is “Suspend” and the run attributeof the branch destination Title is “Suspend”, the “Suspend” ismaintained. If the previous status is “Suspend” and the run attribute ofthe branch destination Title is “Present” or “AutoRun”, the applicationis resumed in the branch destination Title. Defining life cycles and runattributes in the application management table makes it possible toperform a synchronization control to run a Java™ application during aTitle playback period. This enables achievement and provision of variousapplications that cause images to be played back and programs to beexecuted.

It should be noted here that if the previous status is “Suspend” and therun attribute of the branch destination Title is “Present”, the previousstatus “Suspend” may be maintained.

Lastly, “run priority” for each application will be described.

The run priority takes values 0 to 255. When the memory resource runsshort or when the CPU load is high, the application manager can use therun priority to decide which application to terminate forcibly, or whichapplication to regain resource from. The application manager terminatesan application with low-level run priority, and keeps the operation ofan application with high-level run priority.

The run priority can also be used in arbitration between applicationsthat conflict with each other requesting a PL that is being played back.Suppose here that an application is fast forwarding a PlayList andanother application issues a pause request for the same PlayList. Thenthe run priority levels assigned to these applications are compared witheach other. If the fast-forwarding application has a higher run prioritylevel, the fast-forwarding is continued. If the pause-requestingapplication has a higher run priority level, the PL being fast-forwardedis paused.

With the above-described life cycle, run attribute, and run priority, itis possible during the authoring to limit the number of applicationsthat can operate on the virtual machine to a predetermined number orless. This provides stable operation of applications.

<PlayList Management Table>

Up to now, the application management table has been described. Thefollows will described the PlayList management table. The PlayListmanagement table shows playback control that should be performedsimultaneously with execution of each application during the life cycleof the application. The operation of an application is unstable. Theremay be a start-up failure or an abnormal termination. In the presentembodiment, a PlayList management table is provided for each applicationlife cycle, as a Fail Safe mechanism that functions in case the start-upfailure or abnormal termination occurs. The PlayList management table isinformation that defines a playback control that should be performedwhen an application life cycle starts. The playback control describedhere is a playback of an AVClip based on the PlayList information. Thatis to say, by performing the playback control based on the PlayListinformation, the execution of an application and the playback of aPlayList are performed simultaneously. It was said earlier that aPlayList management table is provided for each application life cycle.It should be noted here however that the PlayList management table canonly be provided in correspondence with Title boundary application. Thisis because since the life cycle of Title unboundary application extendsover all Titles, the control for simultaneous performance of theexecution of an application and the playback of a PlayList cannot beapplied to Title unboundary application.

There is no need to define the playback of a PlayList in regards withthe Chapter boundary application. This is because the life cycle of theChapter boundary application is defined on the premise that theexecution of the application is started from a Chapter within aPlayList. As understood from the above description, the PlayListmanagement table is defined in correspondence with a life cycle that iscomposed of one or more Titles.

FIG. 27A shows the internal structure of the PlayList management table.As shown in FIG. 27A, the PlayList management table is composed of“PL_id_ref” and “Playback_Attribute”.

FIG. 27B shows the meaning of the information elements that constitutethe PlayList management table.

The “PL_id_ref” indicates, by a reference value written therein incorrespondence with a PL identifier, a PL that can be played back duringan application lifecycle. The PL identifier is represented by afive-digit value “YYYYY” that is provided in the file YYYYY.MPLS as thefile name. The “PL_id_ref” with the YYYYY written therein indicates a PLthat can be played back in a corresponding Title.

The “Playback_Attribute” is an attribute that is similar to the runattribute in the application management table, and is a playbackattribute that defines how to play back the PL written in the“PL_id_ref” when Title starts. The playback attributes for PL areclassified into “AutoPlay”, “Present” or the like.

“AutoPlay” is an attribute indicating that When a corresponding Titlebranches, a PlayList with the “AutoPlay” attribute is played back. Whena Title branches to another Title, the management body (applicationmanager) that manages the applications starts playing back a PlayListwhich can be played back in the branch destination Title and whoseplayback attribute has been set to AutoPlay. This means that thePlayList whose playback attribute has been set to AutoPlay isautomatically activated as Title branches.

“Present” is, as is the case with the run attribute “Present”, acontinuous attribute, and indicates that the status of the PL in thebranch source Title is maintained. The “Present” is also an attributethat indicates that a corresponding PlayList can be played back.Suppose, for example, that there are two Titles that are to be playedback continuously, that in the PlayList management table of the branchsource Title, the playback attribute of a PlayList is set to AutoPlay,and in the PlayList management table of the branch destination Title,the playback attribute of the PlayList is set to Present. Here, it issupposed that the PlayList can be played back for two hours, and that abranch occurs after it is played back for one hour. In this case wherethe playback attribute of the PlayList is set to Present in the branchdestination Title, the branch destination Title plays back the PlayListstarting with a position immediately after an already-played-back onehour portion. As understood from this, even if a branch occurs betweenTitles, by setting the playback attribute of a PlayList to Present inthe branch destination Title, it is possible to resume the playback ofthe Playlist in the branch destination Title. This enables a series ofbranch Titles to continuously play back a common PlayList, thus makingit easy to achieve “a common PlayList being played back in a series ofTitles”. When there are a plurality of branch destination Titles, it ispossible, by setting the playback attribute of the PlayList to Presentin the branch destination Titles, to continue the playback of a commonPlayList through the branch destination Titles.

It should be noted here that since there is no need to assure theseamless playback at a boundary between Titles, it is permitted tointerrupt the playback of the PlayList at around a branch in theabove-stated case where a common PlayList is played back through aplurality of Titles.

Also, a PlayList whose playback attribute is set to “Present” can beplayed back upon request from another application. When a playbackrequest is issued from another application that is being run, themanagement body (application manager) judges whether or not PL_id_ref ofthe target PlayList is written in the PlayList management table andwhether or not the playback attribute of the PlayList is set to“AutoPlay” or “Present”. If it is set to “AutoPlay” or “Present”, themanagement body plays back the PlayList. If PL_id_ref of the PlayList isnot written in the PlayList management table, the management body doesnot play back the PlayList. Only PlayLists whose playback attribute isset to “AutoPlay” or “Present” can be played back upon request fromanother application. “Present” is a default playback attribute that isassigned when the playback attribute is not clearly specified. As aresult, when the playback attribute of an application is “--” indicatingno specification, it means that the playback attribute of the PlayListis “Present”.

FIG. 28 shows six combinations of three possible statuses of the branchdestination Title ((i) Not having PlayList management table, (ii) HavingPlayList management table and AutoPlay, and (iii) Having PlayListmanagement table and Present) and two possible statuses of the PL in theprevious Title (Not being played back, and Being played back).

Of these six combinations shown in FIG. 28, in the combination of“Previous status=Not being played back” and “Branch destination Titlehas PlayList management table, and Playback attribute is AutoPlay”,playback of the PlayList is automatically started in the branchdestination Title.

Also, in the combination of “Previous status=Being played back” and“Branch destination Title does not have PlayList management table”,playback of the PlayList is stopped in the branch destination Title. Inthe combinations other than these, the status in the branch source Titleis maintained. Based on the PlayList management table, a playback of aPlayList is started only when the PlayList has not been played back inthe branch source Title and the playback attribute for the PlayList isset to AutoPlay in the branch destination Title. As a result, there isno need to start playing back a PlayList each time a branch betweenTitles occurs. Accordingly, the number of starting playback of aPlayList is minimized even if a lot of branches occur between Titles.

The following describes how to write the PlayList and applicationmanagement tables, with reference to a specific example shown in FIG.29A. In this specific example, two continuous Titles (Title #1 Title #2)are used. In the table for Title #1, application #1 and application #2are written as AutoRun applications. In the table for Title #2,application #2 and application #3 are written as AutoRun applications.It is supposed that in the PlayList management table for Title #1,PlayList #1 is written as an AutoPlay PlayList, and that in the PlayListmanagement table for Title #2, PlayList #2 is written as an AutoPlayPlayList. FIG. 29B shows how the PlayLists are played back and theapplications are executed based on the PlayList and applicationmanagement tables that are written as shown in FIG. 29A.

According to the PlayList and application management tables that are setas described above, at the start of Title #1, the applications #1 and #2are automatically started, and a playback of PlayList #1 isautomatically started.

According to the PlayList and application management tables that are setas described above, in terms of the application #1, there is descriptionin the table for Title #1, but there is no description in the table forTitle #2. Therefore, the execution of the application #1 is stopped.Similarly, in terms of PlayList #1, there is description in the tablefor Title #1, but there is no description in the table for Title #2.Therefore, the playback of PlayList #1 is stopped.

In terms of PlayList #2 and the application #3, there is no descriptionin the tables for Title #1, but there is description in the tables forTitle #2. Therefore, a playback of PlayList #2 and an execution of theapplication #3 are automatically started. A branch can be used as achance to change a PlayList to be played back to another PlayList. Inthis way, use of the PlayList and application management tables makes itpossible to define, in advance in the authoring stage, a process ofchanging PlayLists to be played back, at a branch.

Also in the example shown in FIG. 29A, the application #1, application#2, and application #3 are assigned 200, 128, and 200 as the runpriority levels, respectively. Such assignment of run priority levelscauses an arbitration between applications to be performed when theapplications conflict with each other issuing requests to controlPlayList #1 or PlayList #2. Suppose here that the application #1 is fastforwarding PlayList #1 and the application #2 issues a pause request forPlayList #1. Then the run priority levels assigned to these applicationsin the application management table are compared with each other for thearbitration. As a result of this, the control by the application #1 iscontinued, rejecting the request by the application #2. Such a processcan be defined at the authoring stage. Use of the run priority togetherwith the PlayList management table makes it possible for the playbackapparatus to perform even an arbitration when a conflict occurs for aPlayList.

The following describes a specific example of the description of thePlayList management table. FIG. 30A shows an example of the descriptionof the PlayList management table. The tables are written for each of thetwo continuous Titles (Title #1, Title #2) as follows. In the PlayListmanagement table for Title #1, PlayList #1 is written as an AutoRunPlayList, and PlayList #2 is written as a playable PlayList. In theapplication management table for Title #1, application #1 is written asan AutoRun application, and application #2 is written as an executableapplication. In the PlayList management table for Title #2, PlayList #2and PlayList #3 are written as playable PlayLists. In the applicationmanagement table for Title #2, application #3 is written as an AutoPlayapplication. FIG. 30B shows how the PlayLists are played back and theapplications are executed based on the PlayList and applicationmanagement tables that are written as shown in FIG. 30A. According tothe PlayList and application management tables that are set as describedabove, at the start of Title #1, the application #1, which is written asan AutoRun application, is automatically started. Also, since theapplication #2 is written as an executable application in theapplication management table for Title #1, the application #2 is startedby a call yd1 from the application #1.

In the application management table for Title #2, there is nodescription of the applications #1 and #2, but the application #3 iswritten as an AutoRun application. Therefore, at the boundary betweenTitle #1 and Title #2, the execution of the applications #1 and #2 isstopped, and the application #3 is automatically started. In thePlayList management table for Title #1, PlayLists #1 and #2 are writtenas playable PlayLists. Of these playable PlayLists, PlayList #1 isassigned the AutoPlay attribute. As a result, PlayList #1 isautomatically played back at the start of Title #1.

In the PlayList management table for Title #1, PlayList #2 is written asa playable PlayList, as well as PlayList #1. It is therefore possiblefor the application #1 to stop the playback of PlayList #1 and start aplayback of PlayList #2 by requesting the playback of PlayList #2, thusachieving the PlayList change. In the PlayList management table forTitle #2, PlayList #2 and PlayList #3 are written as playable PlayLists,and there is no PlayList to which the AutoPlay attribute has beenattached. As a result, the playback of PlayList #1, which wasautomatically started at the start of Title #1, may continue duringTitle #1, but automatically stops at the start of Title #2.

However, the playback of PlayList #2, if it continues through Title #1,continues also into Title #2. In the PlayList management table for Title#2, PlayList #2 and PlayList #3 are written as playable PlayLists. As aresult, it is possible for the application #3, which is run in Title #2,to stop the playback of PlayList #2 and start a playback of PlayList #3by requesting the playback of PlayList #3, thus achieving the PlayListchange.

Next, how the Title playback period is defined by the PlayListmanagement table will be described with reference to FIGS. 31A to 31C.

FIG. 31A shows the Title playback period of a Title for which theplayback attribute is set to AutoPlay. If the playback attribute hasbeen set to AutoPlay, a playback of an AutoPlay PL is started as theplayback of the Title is started. Here, the Title playback period isdetermined based on the PL time axis even if the application runsnormally and terminates normally.

FIG. 31B shows a case where the playback attribute is set to AutoPlay inthe PlayList management table, and the application terminatesabnormally. After the abnormal termination, no application is run, butthe playback of the AutoPlay Pl is continued. In this case also, theTitle playback period is determined based on the PL time axis.

FIG. 31C shows a case where the playback attribute is set to AutoPlay inthe PlayList management table, and the main application fails to bestarted. In this case also, the Title playback period is determinedbased on the PL time axis since the AutoPlay Pl is played backregardless of the starting failure of an application.

With the above-stated arrangement of setting the playback attribute toAutoPlay in the PlayList management table, even if it takes 5 to 10seconds to start a Java™ application, something is displayed on thescreen during the start-up. That is to say, even if it takes time tostart an application, something is displayed on the screen during thestart-up. This alleviates the start-up delay which is caused by thetime-consuming process of application start-up.

Defining the application and PlayList management tables makes itpossible to perform a synchronization control to run a Java™ applicationduring a Title playback period. This enables achievement and provisionof various applications that cause images to be played back and programsto be executed. Up to now, the recording medium has been described. Thefollowing describes the playback apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 32 shows the internal structure of the playback apparatus of thepresent invention. The playback apparatus of the present invention isindustrially manufactured based on the internal structure shown in FIG.32. The playback apparatus of the present invention is mainly composedof two parts: a system LSI; and a drive apparatus. The industrialmanufacturing is achieved by loading the parts into the cabinet and theboard of the apparatus. The system LSI is an integrated circuit thatincludes various processing units for performing the functions of theplayback apparatus. The playback apparatus manufactured in such a mannerincludes a BD-ROM drive 1, a read buffer 2, a demultiplexer 3, a videodecoder 4, a video plane 5, a P-graphics decoder 6, a presentationgraphics plane 7, a combining unit 8, a font generator 9, an I-graphicsdecoder 10, a switch 11, an interactive graphics plane 12, a combiningunit 13, a CLUT unit 14, a CLUT unit 15, an audio decoder 16, a networkdevice 17, a local storage 18, a read buffer 19, a demultiplexer 20, aninstruction ROM 21, a user event processing unit 22, a PSR set 23, a CPU24, a scenario memory 25, a local memory 26, and a switch 27.

First, component elements (the BD-ROM drive 1 to the audio decoder 16)for playing back the AVClips recorded on the RD-ROM will be described.

The BD-ROM drive 1 performs loading/ejecting a BD-ROM, and performsaccesses to the BD-ROM.

The read buffer 2 is a FIFO memory in which TS packets read from theBD-ROM are stored in the First-In-First-Out manner.

The demultiplexer (De-mux) 3 extracts TS packets from the read buffer 2,and converts the TS packets into PES packets. The demultiplexer 3outputs PES packets, out of the PES packets obtained by the conversion,that have PIDs set by the CPU 24, to any of the video decoder 4, theP-graphics decoder 6, the I-graphics decoder 10, and the audio decoder16.

The video decoder 4 decodes a plurality of PES packets, which are outputfrom the demultiplexer 3, into pictures of a non-compression format, andwrites the pictures onto the video plane 5.

The video plane 5 is a plane for storing non-compression formatpictures. The plane is a memory area in the playback apparatus forstoring pixel data of one screen. The resolution of the video plane 5 is1920×1080. The picture data stored in the video plane 5 is composed ofpixel data that is represent by the audio decoder 16-bit YUV values. Inthe video plane 5, scaling of playback images for each frame in thevideo stream is possible. Here, “scaling” is changing the size ofplayback image per frame to either ¼ (quarter) or 1/1 (full-screen) ofthe video plane 5. Such a scaling is executed in the BD-J mode inaccordance with an instruction by the CPU 24. This enables the screen tobe arranged differently by displaying the playback image of the videostream at one corner, in the full scale or the like.

The P-graphics decoder 6 decodes a presentation graphics stream readfrom the BD-ROM into non-compression graphics, and writes thenon-compression graphics onto the presentation graphics plane 7. Thedecoding of the graphics stream results in a sub-title appearing on thescreen.

The presentation graphics plane 7 is a memory area having the size ofone screen, and is able to store non-compression graphics of one screen.The resolution of the video plane 5 is 1920×1080. Each pixel of thenon-compression graphics stored in the presentation graphics plane 7 isrepresented by an 8-bit index color. The non-compression graphics storedin the presentation graphics plane 7 are displayed after the index coloris converted using a CLUT (Color Lookup Table).

The combining unit 8 combines the non-compression picture data (i)stored in the video plane 5 with the data stored in the presentationgraphics plane 7.

The font generator 9 expands the text code, which is contained in thetext ST stream, into bit maps using character fonts, and writes the bitmaps onto the presentation graphics plane 7.

The I-graphics decoder 10 decodes an IG stream, which is read from theBD-ROM or the local storage 18 in the HDMV mode, into non-compressiongraphics, and writes the non-compression graphics onto the interactivegraphics plane 12.

The switch 11 selectively writes, onto the presentation graphics plane7, either the font sequence generated by the font generator 9 or thegraphics obtained as a result of the decoding by the P-graphics decoder6.

The interactive graphics plane 12 stores the non-compression graphicsthat are obtained as a result of the decoding by the I-graphics decoder10. The interactive graphics plane 12 also stores the characters andgraphics that the applications have drawn in the BD-J mode.

The combining unit 13 combines the data stored in the interactivegraphics plane 12 with a composite image (combination of thenon-compression picture data and the data stored in the presentationgraphics plane 7) output from the combining unit 8. This combinationenables the characters and/or graphics written on the I-graphics decoder10 by applications to be overlaid on the non-compression picture data.

The CLUT unit 14 converts the index color of the non-compressiongraphics stored in the video plane 5, into the Y, Cr, and Cb values.

The CLUT unit 15 converts the index color of the non-compressiongraphics stored in the interactive graphics plane 12, into the Y, Cr,and Cb values.

The audio decoder 16 decodes PES packets output from the demultiplexer3, and outputs audio data in the non-compression format.

Up to now, the component elements for playing back the AVClips have beendescribed. The following describes the component elements (the networkdevice 17 to the demultiplexer 20) that relate to operations in the BD-Jmode.

The network device 17 is for achieving the communication function in theplayback apparatus. When a URL is specified by a Java™ application inthe BD-J mode, the network device 17 establishes the TCP connection, FTPconnection or the like with the web site having the URL. Suchestablishment of the connection allows the Java™ application to downloaddata from the web site.

The local storage 18 is a hard disk for storing, together with metadata,contents that are provided from a recording medium or a communicationmedium other than the BD-ROM, such as the contents downloaded from theweb site through a connection established by the network device 17. Themetadata is used for managing the downloaded contents by bounding themto the local storage 18. An application in the BD-J mode can, byaccessing the local storage 18, perform various processes using thelength of the downloaded contents.

The read buffer 19 is a FIFO memory. If a downloaded content stored inthe local storage 18 contains a SubClip, the read buffer 19 stored TSpackets that constitute the SubClip in the First-In-First-Out manner.

The demultiplexer (De-mux) 20 extracts TS packets from the read buffer19, and converts the TS packets into PES packets. The demultiplexer 3outputs PES packets, out of the PES packets obtained by the conversion,that have desired PIDs, to the font generator 9, the I-graphics decoder10, and the audio decoder 16.

With the above-described operations of the network device 17 to thedemultiplexer 20, a content that a Java™ application downloaded througha network can be played back in the same manner as a content recorded onthe BD-ROM. The following describes component elements (the instructionROM 21 to the switch 27) for achieving the integration control in theplayback apparatus.

The instruction ROM 21 stores software that defines the control by theplayback apparatus.

The user event processing unit 22 outputs, to the CPU 24, user eventsthat are instructed through key operations on the remote control or thefront panel of the playback apparatus.

The PSR set 23 is a register embedded in the playback apparatus, and iscomposed of 64 Player Status Registers (PSR) and 4,096 General PurposeRegisters (GPR). Among the values set in the Player Status Registers(the set values are referred to as PSRs), PSR4 to PSR8 are used torepresent a current playback position.

PSR4 is set to a value ranging from 1 to 100 to indicate a Title towhich the current playback position belongs, and is set to a value 0 toindicate that the current playback position belongs to the top menu.

PSR5 is set to a value ranging from 1 to 999 to indicate a Chapternumber of a Chapter to which the current playback position belongs, andis set to a value 0×FFFF to indicate that Chapter numbers are invalid inthe playback apparatus.

PSR6 is set to a value ranging from 0 to 999 to indicate a PL number ofa PL (current PL) to which the current playback position belongs.

PSR7 is set to a value ranging from 0 to 255 to indicate a PlayItemnumber of a PlayItem (current PlayItem) to which the current playbackposition belongs.

PSR8 is set to a value ranging from 0 to 0×FFFFFFFF to indicate thecurrent playback position (current PTM (Presentation TiMe)) using thetemporal accuracy of 45 KHz. With the above-described PSR4 to PSR8, itis possible to identify the current playback position in the time axisof the entire BD-ROM shown in FIG. 21A.

The CPU 24 runs the software stored in the instruction ROM 21 andcontrols the entire playback apparatus. The contents of the controldynamically change depending on the user events output from the userevent processing unit 22 and depending on the values set in PSRs in thePSR set 23.

The scenario memory 25 stores the current PL information and the currentClip information. The current PL information is a piece of PLinformation that is a current target of processing, among a plurality ofpieces of PL information recorded on the BD-ROM. The current Clipinformation is a piece of Clip information that is a current target ofprocessing, among a plurality of pieces of Clip information recorded onthe BD-ROM.

The local memory 26 is a cache memory for temporarily storing the datarecorded on the BD-ROM so as to cover the slowness in reading data fromthe BD-ROM. Due to the presence of the local memory 26, applications areexecuted efficiently in the BD-J mode.

The switch 27 is used to selectively enter data, which has been readfrom the BD-ROM or the local storage 18, into any of the read buffer 2,the read buffer 19, the scenario memory 25, and the local memory 26.

Up to now, the hardware structure of the playback apparatus of thepresent embodiment has been described. The following describes thesoftware structure of the playback apparatus of the present embodiment

FIG. 33 shows, in the layer structure, the hardware and the softwarestored in the CPU 24. As shown in FIG. 33, the layer structure of theplayback apparatus is composed of:

a) The first layer as the BD Player Device;

b) The second layer as the BD Player Model; and

c) The third layer as the Application Runtime Environment.

The hardware structure of the playback apparatus shown in FIG. 32belongs to the first layer. The first layer as the BD Player Deviceincludes: a “decoder” that is composed of the video decoder 4, theP-graphics decoder 6, the I-graphics decoder 10, and the audio decoder16; a “plane” that is composed of the video plane 5, the presentationgraphics plane 7, and the interactive graphics plane 12; the BD-ROM, afile system of the BD-ROM; the local storage 18; and a file system ofthe local storage 18.

The second layer as the BD Player Model is composed of:

b2) a layer composed of a playback control engine 32; and

b1) a layer composed of a virtual file system 30 and a presentationengine 31, and

provides the function API to layers that are higher than itself.

The third layer as the Application Runtime Environment is composed of:

c1) a layer in which a module manager 34 is present; and

c2) a layer in which an HDMV module 33 and a BD-J module 35 are present.

In the layer model shown in FIG. 33, the module manager 34 is located inthe uppermost layer. The module manager 34 has a bypass ur1 that goesdirectly to the playback control engine 32 bypassing the HDMV module 33and the BD-J module 35. Due to this bypass, the module manager 34 is ina shape of an inverted character “L”, embedding a user event manager 37in itself, in the layer model shown in FIG. 33.

The BD-J module 35 is what is called a Java™ platform, having aconstruction centering on a Java™ virtual machine 38. Various systemprograms and applications operate in a work memory that is included inthe Java™ virtual machine 38. An application manager 36 and an eventlistner manager 39 (default operation manager 40) that are located upperthan the Java™ virtual machine 38 are such system programs. Theapplication manager 36 includes a PLMT processor 41. Also, a permissioncontroller 42 is provided between the BD-J module 35 and the playbackcontrol engine 32.

First, the virtual file system 30 to the module manager 34 that belongto the second layer will be described. FIG. 34 is an illustration of theprocesses performed by the virtual file system 30 to the module manager34.

The virtual file system 30 is a virtual file system for treating thedownloaded contents stored in the local storage 18 as one unit with thedisc contents of the BD-ROM. The downloaded contents stored in the localstorage 18 contain the SubClip, Clip information, and PlayListinformation. The PlayList information in the downloaded contents differfrom the PlayList information recorded on the BD-ROM in that it canspecify Clip information whether the Clip information is stored in theBD-ROM or the local storage 18. And for this specification, the PlayListinformation in the virtual file system 30 need not specify a file on theBD-ROM or the local storage 18 by a full path. This is because a filesystem on the BD-ROM or the local storage 18 is recognized as onevirtual file system (virtual file system 30). Therefore, with afive-digit value, which is a file body of a file storing Clipinformation, specified therein, the Clip_Information_file_name in thePlayItem information and the Clip_Information_file_name in theSubPlayItem information are used to specify an AVClip on the virtualfile system 30 or the BD-ROM. The data reading via the virtual filesystem 30 from the local storage 18, when combined dynamically with thedata stored in the BD-ROM, can produce various patterns of playbacks. Inthe present embodiment, since the disc contents of a combination of thelocal storage 18 and the BD-ROM are treated on an equality with the disccontents of the BD-ROM, it is presumed that the “BD-ROM” also refers toa virtual recording medium that is a combination of the local storage 18and the BD-ROM.

The presentation engine 31 executes AV playback functions. The AVplayback functions in the playback apparatus are a group of traditionalfunctions succeeded from CD and DVD players. The AV playback functionsinclude: Play, Stop, Pause On, Pause Off, Still Off, Forward Play (withspecification of the speed), Backward Play (with specification of thespeed), Audio Change, SubTitle Change, and Angle Change. To realize theAV playback functions, the presentation engine 31 controls the videodecoder 4, the P-graphics decoder 6, the I-graphics decoder 10, and theaudio decoder 16 so as to decode a portion of the AVClip, which has beenread into the read buffer 2, corresponding to a desired time. Here, thedesired time may be the time specified by PSR8 (current PTM). With thisconstruction, it is possible to play back a portion of an AVClip thatcorresponds to an arbitrary time.

The playback control engine (PCE) 32 performs functions that include:(i) PlayList playback control function; and (ii) statusobtaining/setting function for obtaining and setting statuses with thePSR set 23. The PlayList playback control function is, among the AVplayback functions performed by the presentation engine 31, a playbackstart, a playback stop or the like that are performed based on thecurrent PL information and Clip information. The functions (i) and (ii)are performed in response to the function calls that are issued by theHDMV module 33, the module manager 34, and the BD-J module 35.

That is to say, if it receives a function call that instructs to playback a PL, the playback control engine 32 reads a piece of PlayListinformation corresponding to the PL specified in the function call, viathe virtual file system 30 from the BD-ROM or the local storage 18. Theplayback control engine 32 then refers to the PlayItem Informationcontained in the piece of PlayList information, and reads, via thevirtual file system 30 from the BD-ROM or the local storage 18, Clipinformation recited in the Clip_Information_file_name of the PlayItemInformation. The signs ⊚1, ⊚2, ⊚3, and ⊚4 in FIG. 34 respectivelyindicate the following: read PlayList information via the virtual filesystem 30 (⊚1); decode PlayItem information that constitutes thePlayList information (⊚2); read Clip information via the virtual filesystem 30 (⊚3); decode Clip information (⊚4). After the Clip informationand the PlayList information are decoded as described above, the TSpackets that constitute the AVClips are transferred to the presentationengine 31 via the virtual file system 30. After the TS packets aretransferred to the presentation engine 31, the presentation engine 31outputs the TS packets that constitute the AVClips to the decoder sothat they are displayed on the plane. The signs ⋆1, ⋆2, ⋆3, ⋆4, and ⋆5in FIG. 34 respectively indicate the following: read the TS packets thatconstitute the AVClips (⋆1, ⋆2); transfer the TS packets from thevirtual file system 30 to the presentation engine 31 (⋆3); output the TSpackets to the decoder (⋆4); and output decoding results from thedecoder to the planes (⋆5).

The HDMV module 33 is a main body in performing the HDMV mode. If anactivate request (activate(mobj_id) in which the mobj_id specifies abranch destination MovieObject) is received from the module manager 34,the HDMV module 33 stores MovieObject (mobj_id) into the local memory26, decodes the navigation command written in the Movie Object, andissues, based on the decoding results, a function call to the playbackcontrol engine 32. In FIG. 34, the arrows with signs ∇72, ∇73, and ∇4respectively indicate the following: receive “activate (mobj_id)” fromthe module manager 34 (∇2); decode the navigation command written in theMovie Object (∇3); and issue a function call to the playback controlengine 32 (∇4).

The module manager 34 holds Index.bdmv that is read from the BD-ROM, andperforms a branch control. The branch control includes issuing aterminate event to a dynamic scenario constituting a current Title, andissuing an activate event to a dynamic scenario constituting a branchdestination Title. If a Movie Object executes a JumpTitle command thatspecifies title_id (JumpTitle (title_id)), the module manager 34 issuesa terminate event to a Movie Object that constitutes a current Title,and issues an activate (mobj_id) event to activate a Movie Object thatconstitutes a Title corresponding to title_id. In FIG. 34, the arrowswith signs ∇0, ∇1, and ∇2 respectively indicate the following: execute aJumpTitle command (∇0); the module manager 34 referring to Index.bdmv(∇1); and sends a notification to activate a Movie Object thatconstitutes the branch destination Title (∇2). These procedures alsoapply to the case where a BD-J Object calls JumpTitleAPI (JumpTitle(title_id)). In this case, a terminate event is issued to a BD-J Objectthat constitutes a current Title, and an activate (bobj_id) is issued tothe BD-J module 35 to activate a BD-J Object that constitutes a Titlecorresponding to title_id.

Up to now, the presentation engine 31 to the module manager 34 have beenexplained. The following describes the application manager 36 withreference to FIG. 35. FIG. 35 shows the application manager 36.

The application manager 36, each time a branch between Titles occurs,instructs the Java™ virtual machine 38 to start an application that isnot run in the branch source Title, but has the run attribute “AutoRun”for the branch destination Title. At the same time, the applicationmanager 36 terminates an application that is run in the branch sourceTitle, but has no life cycle in the branch destination Title. Suchstart-up control and termination control are performed by referring tothe application management table for the current BD-J. Object. If abranch between Titles occurs here, activate (bobj_id) is notified fromthe module manager 34. Upon receiving the notification, the applicationmanager 36 sets the current BD-J Object to a BD-J Object thatcorresponds to bobj_id, and refers to the application management tablefor the current BD-J. Object. This enables the application manager 36 toidentify the application to be automatically started and the applicationto be automatically terminated. In FIG. 35, the signs ⋆0, ⋆1, ⋆2, and ⋆3respectively indicate the following: a TitleJump occurs (⋆0); notifyactivate (bobj_id) (⋆1); refer to the application management table (⋆2);and instruct the Java™ virtual machine 38 to start an application (⋆3).With this instruction to start an application, the Java™ virtual machine38 reads the xlet program from the local memory 26 onto the work memory(⋆4, ⋆5).

Up to now, the application manager 36 has been described. The followingdescribes the user event manager 37 to the default operation manager 40with reference to FIG. 36.

The user event manager 37 divides the user events received by the userevent processing unit 22 into (i) user events for playback control and(ii) key events. The user events for playback control are user eventsfor instructing: Play, Stop, Pause On, Pause Off, Still Off, ForwardPlay (with specification of the speed), Backward Play (withspecification of the speed), Audio Change, SubTitle Change, and AngleChange. The key events are user events that indicate depression of theMove Up, Move Down, Move Right, Move Left, and Numeric keys. The userevent manager 37 issues a function call to cause the playback controlengine 32 to perform the playback control function based on a user eventfor playback control. This function call is referred to as UO (UserOperation), and is issued to the playback control engine 32 by a UOcontroller 37 a that is provided in the bypass in the module manager 34,without passing through the HDMV module 33 and the BD-J module 35. Thisenables playback control for Play, Stop, Pause On, Pause Off or the liketo be performed without delay. In FIG. 36, the signs ⋆1, ⋆2, and ⋆3respectively indicate the following: the user event manager 37 dividesthe user events into (i) user events for playback control and (ii) keyevents (⋆1, ⋆2); and function calls issued to the playback controlengine 32 based on the user events for playback control (⋆3).

The Java™ virtual machine 38 loads the xlet program that constitutes anapplication onto the work memory, decodes the xlet program, and controlsthe lower layers based on the decoding results. More specifically, inthe control of the lower layers, the Java™ virtual machine 38 issues aJMF method to a BD middleware (not illustrated) so that a function callcorresponding to the BD playback apparatus replaces the existentfunction call, and issues the function call after replacement to theplayback control engine 32.

The event listner manager 39 analyzes the key events and distributes theevents. The solid line arrows ⋄1 and ⋄2 in FIG. 36 indicate thedistribution of events by the event listner manager 39. If the event tobe distributed is a key event that has been registered with the EventListner in the xlet program, the event listner manager 39 distributesthe event to a xlet program that is being indirectly referred to by theBD-J. Object. The Event Listner in the xlet program has key eventscorresponding to JMF that are registered therewith. Therefore, the xletprogram can be activated by such a registered key event. If the event tobe distributed is a key event that has not been registered with theEvent Listner, the event listner manager 39 distributes the event to thedefault operation manager 40. Since various key events including keyevents that are not registered with Event Listner may occur in theBD-ROM playback apparatus, the above-described arrangement is made toprocess each key event properly without fail.

When a key event that is not registered with Event Listner in the xletprogram is distributed to the default operation manager 40 by the eventlistner manager 39, the default operation manager 40 issues to theplayback control engine 32 a function call that corresponds to the eventthat is not registered with Event Listner. The arrow ⋄3 in FIG. 36indicates the function call issued by the default operation manager 40.

The PLMT processor 41 is a component element of the application manager36, and if activate (bobj_id) is received from the module manager 34,refers to the PlayList management table for a BD-J Object that isidentified by the bobj_id. And if a PL having the playback attributeAutoPlay is written in the PlayList management table for the BD-JObject, the PLMT processor 41 outputs to the playback control engine 32to play back the AutoPlay PL. On the other hand, if the playback controlengine 32 issues a notify event that indicates an end of a playback of aPL, the PLMT processor 41 recognizes the point in time, at which thenotify event was issued, as the Title end point. The arrows Δ1 and Δ2 in36 respectively indicate the following: issue a function call PlayPL tothe playback control engine 32 (Δ1); a notify event is output from theplayback control engine 32 (Δ2).

This completes the description of the layer structure in the BD-J module35. It should be noted here that description of the permissioncontroller 42 is omitted in the present embodiment and will be providedin detail in Embodiment 3.

<Internal Structure of Java™ Virtual Machine 38>

The internal structure of the Java™ virtual machine 38 will bedescribed. FIG. 37 shows the internal structure of the Java™ virtualmachine 38. As shown in FIG. 37, the Java™ virtual machine 38 includesthe CPU 24, which is shown in 32, a user class loader 52, a method area53, a work memory 54, threads 55 a, 55 b, . . . 55 n, and Java™ stacks56 a, 56 b, 56 n.

The user class loader 52 reads, from the local memory 26 or the like,class files in Java™ archive files that belong to the BDJA directory,and stores the read class files into the method area 53. The class filereading by the user class loader 52 is achieved as the applicationmanager 36 instructs the user class loader 52 to read the class file byspecifying a file path. If the file path indicates the local memory 26,the user class loader 52 reads a class file in a Java™ archive file thatconstitutes an application, from the local memory 26 onto the workmemory. If the file path indicates a directory in the virtual filesystem 30, the user class loader 52 reads a class file in a Java™archive file that constitutes an application, from the BD-ROM or thelocal storage 18 onto the work memory. The application activationcontrol (⋆3, ⋆4, and ⋆5) shown in FIG. 35 is achieved by the class filereading by the user class loader 52. If a class file specified to beread is not stored in the local memory 26, the user class loader 52notifies the application manager 36 of a reading failure.

The method area 53 stores the class files read by the user class loader52 from the local memory 26.

The work memory 54 is what is called a heap area for storing instancesof various class files. The application manager 36 and the event listnermanager 39 shown in FIG. 33 are resident applications that are residentin the work memory 54. The work memory 54 also stores instances thatcorrespond to the class files stored in the method area 53, as well asthe resident-type instances. The instances are the xlet programs thatconstitute the application. After such xlet programs are stored in thework memory 54, the application is ready to run. In the layer modelsshown in FIGS. 33, 35, and 36, the work memory 54 is located in a layerthat is higher than the Java™ virtual machine 38. However, this is anarrangement made to describe the application manager 36 and the eventlistner manager 39 on the work memory 54 to be easy to understand. Inreality, the application manager 36 and the event listner manager 39 areexecuted as instances by the threads 55 a, 55 b, . . . 55 n.

The threads 55 a, 55 b, . . . 55 n are a logical execution body forexecuting the methods stored in the work memory 54. The threads 55 a, 55b, . . . 55 n perform calculations using, as the operands, the argumentsstored in the local variables or the operand stacks, and stores thecalculation results into the local variables or the operand stacks. Thearrows ky1, ky2, and kyn symbolically indicate the methods supplied fromthe work memory 54 to the threads 55 a, 55 b, . . . 55 n. While thephysical execution body is only one, namely the CPU, up to 64 threadsmay be provided in the Java (™) virtual machine 38, as the logicalexecution bodies. In so far as the number does not exceed 64, newthreads may be created or existent threads may be deleted. The number ofoperating threads may be increased or decreased during the operation ofthe Java™ virtual machine 38. Since the threads may be increased asnecessary, it is possible to allow a plurality of threads to execute oneinstance in parallel, thereby speeding up the instance. In FIG. 37, therelationship between the CPU 24 and the threads is “one-to-many”.However, this relation may be “many-to-many” where there are a pluralityof CPUs. The execution of the methods by the threads 55 a, 55 b, . . .55 n is achieved by converting byte codes that constitute the methodsinto native codes for the CPU 24, and issuing the native codes to theCPU 24. Description of the conversion into native codes is omitted heresince it diverges away from the subject of the present application.

The Java™ stacks 56 a, 56 b, . . . 56 n are provided in correspondencewith the threads 55 a, 55 b, . . . 55 n on a one-to-one basis, and eachhave a program counter (PC in FIG. 37) and one or more frames. The“program counter” indicates a portion of an instance that is currentlyexecuted. The “frame” is an stack-system area that is assignedone-to-one to a call for a method. Each frame is composed of: “operandstack” for storing an argument used at the one-time call; and “localvariable stack (Local Variable in FIG. 37)” used by the called method.Since a frame is stacked on the Java™ stacks 56 a, 56 b, . . . 56 n eachtime a call is performed, a frame is also stacked when a method callsfor itself recursively. When a JMF player instance playback method iscalled for, or when a JumpTitle API call is called for, a framecorresponding to the call is stacked on the Java™ stacks 56 a, 56 b, . .. 56 n. Information that is stored in the operand stacks of these framesas the arguments includes: (i) file names of MPLS files to be playedback by the playback methods; (ii) title_ids that indicate the jumpdestinations of the JumpTitle API calls; and the like.

The following describes in detail how the application manager 36 and itscomponent element, the PLMT processor 41, process in the above-describedinternal structure of the Java™ virtual machine 38.

After the module manager 34 outputs an event (activatred[bobj_id]) thatrequests to activate a BD-J Object identified by bobj_id, theapplication manager 36, which is one instance in the work memory 54,sets the BD-J Object having the bobj_id to the current BD-J. Object. Theapplication manager 36 then checks the execution status in the branchsource Title and the run attribute of the application in the currentBD-J Object, and determines (i) the application to be automaticallystarted and (ii) the application to be automatically terminated.

The determination of (i) the application to be automatically started isachieved by searching the application management table of the currentBD-J Object for apli_id_ref of an application that is not run in thebranch source Title but has the attribute AutoRun in the current BD-J.Object. Upon finding such apli_id_ref, the application manager 36instructs the user class loader 52 to read class files belonging to theJava™ archive files of the application identified by apli_id_ref,allowing instances corresponding to the class files to be generated inthe work memory 54. This makes the application whose life cycle is inthe current Title ready to be started. The application is then startedwhen the threads 55 a, 55 b, . . . 55 n are caused to execute themethods of the application.

The determination of (ii) the application to be automatically terminatedis achieved by searching the application management table of the currentBD-J Object for apli_id_ref of an application that is run in the branchsource Title but does not have a life cycle in the current Title. Uponfinding such apli_id_ref, the application manager 36 terminates the xletprogram that constitutes the application with the apli_id_ref. Thismakes it possible to regain such resources as (i) an area in the workmemory 54 that has been occupied by the application, or (ii) frames inthe Java™ stacks 56 a, 56 b, . . . 56 n that have been used to executethe methods of the application.

The PLMT processor 41, which is a component element of the applicationmanager 36, checks the playback status in the branch source Title andthe playback attribute of the PlayList in the current Title, anddetermines (i) the PlayList to be automatically played back and (ii) thePlayList to be automatically terminated.

The determination of (i) the PlayList to be automatically played back isachieved by searching the PlayList management table for a PlayList thatis not played back in the branch source Title but has the attributeAutoPlay in the current Title. Upon finding such a PlayList, the PLMTprocessor 41 executes a function call for a PlayList playback using, asan argument, Pl_id_ref of the PlayList to be played back. With theexecution of the call, frames with the Pl_id_ref stored in the operandstacks are generated in the Java™ stacks 56 a, 56 b, . . . 56 n. And thethreads 55 a, 55 b, . . . 55 n execute the function call for playback ofthe PlayList. With the execution of the function call, the presentationengine 31 starts playing back the PlayList.

The determination of (ii) the PlayList to be automatically terminated isachieved by searching the PlayList management table for a PlayList thatis being played back in the branch source Title but is not written inthe PlayList management table of the current Title. Upon finding such aPlayList, the PLMT processor 41 executes a function call for stoppingthe playback of the PlayList, and deletes the frames corresponding to afunction call for playing back the PlayList, from the Java™ stacks 56 a,56 b, . . . 56 n.

There four modes in which an application terminates in the work memory54. FIG. 38 shows the four modes of application termination. In thefirst mode, the application terminates as shortage of the resourceoccurs and the application manager 36 issues a terminate event (⋆1). Inthe second mode, the application terminates as it receives a terminateevent from another application via the application manager 36 (⋆2). Inthe third mode, the application terminates as the life cycle written inthe application management table ends and the application manager 36issues a terminate event (⋆3). In the fourth mode, the applicationterminates as the application itself activates the termination process(⋆4). In three out of the four modes, the application manager 36terminates the application. It is understood from this that theapplication manager 36 plays a central role in controlling the operationof the application. If the application does not terminate by an issuanceof a terminate event, the application manager 36 can forcibly terminatethe application to regain the resource. The authority to forcibly regainthe resource is one characteristic of the application manager 36.

Up to now, the component elements of the BD-J module 35 have beendescribed.

(Description of Flowcharts)

The above description of the application manager 36 is only an outlinethereof. The processes of the application manager 36 are shown in detailin FIGS. 39 and 40. The following describes the processing procedures ofthe application manager 36 in more detail with reference to theflowcharts.

FIG. 39 is a flowchart showing procedures of the application manager 36.The procedures shown in FIG. 39 include a main loop that is composed ofsteps S1, S2, S3, and S4. In step S1, it is judged whether or not aTitle jump occurred. If it is judged that a Title jump occurred, theapplication manager 36 changes the Titles (step S7), refers to theapplication management table for the branch destination Title, andterminates an application that is run in the branch source Title anddoes not live in the branch destination Title (step S8). The applicationmanager 36 then refers to the PlayList management table for the branchdestination Title, and terminates a PlayList that is being played backin the branch source Title and does not live in the branch destinationTitle (step S9).

The application manager 36 then instructs the PLMT processor 41 to judgewhether or not there is a PL that is not played back in the branchsource Title and has the attribute AutoPlay in the branch destinationTitle (step S10). If it judges that there is such a PL, the PLMTprocessor 41 instructs the playback control engine 32 to play back theAutoPlay PL (step S11). If there is no such PL, no AutoPlay PL is playedback.

A succeeding procedure composed of steps S12 to S18 achieves anactivation of an application that has the life cycle in the branchdestination Title. In this procedure, the application manager 36instructs to start an AutoRun application (step S14), and if the AutoRunapplication is successfully started (YES in step S15), converts theplayback image of AutoPlay Pl into quarter (¼) (step S18).

If it is judged as NO in step S15, a loop composed of steps S14 to S17is executed. The control variable in this loop process is a restartcounter. The restart counter is a counter that defines the number ofrestarts of an application. The restart counter is reset in step S12,and it is judged in step S16 whether or not the restart counter is 0. Ifit is judged in step S16 that the restart counter is not 0, the restartcounter is decremented in step S17. The AutoRun application isrepeatedly started in the loop process composed of steps S14 to S17 inso far as the restart counter is not 0. Such a repetition assures theactivation of the application.

In step S2, it is judged whether or not a main application isterminated. If it is judged that the main application is terminated, thecontrol moves to step S5 to judge whether or not the main applicationhas terminated normally. If it is judged that the main application hasterminated abnormally, steps S19 and S20 are executed. If it is judgedthat the main application has terminated normally, the control returnsto the main loop composed of steps S1 to S4, not executing steps S19 andS20.

In step S19, it is judged whether or not an AutoPlay PL is being playedback. If it is judged that an AutoPlay PL is being played back, theapplication manager 36 instructs the playback control engine 32 toconvert the playback image of AutoPlay Pl into full-screen (step S20).Then the control moves to step S16. With this movement of the control tostep S16, the loop process composed of steps S14 to S17 is executed evenif the application has terminated abnormally. This enables theapplication to be repeatedly started until the restart counter that isset in step S12 becomes 0.

In step S4, it is judged whether or not a BD-ROM is present in the BDdrive 1. If no BD-ROM is present, the application manager 36 instructsto terminate all the applications (step S6).

FIG. 40 shows specific examples of the PlayList management table and theapplication management table. In FIG. 40, the first row shows playbackimages of a Title, the second row shows the time axis of the Title, thethird row shows the progress of playback of a PL, and the fourth rowshows the execution of an application. The fourth row indicates that theapplication #1 is started at the start of the Title, and then gets intothe operation status at time t1. On the other hand, PlayList #1 startsto be played back at the start of the Title. As a result, as shown onthe left-hand side of the first row, a playback image gj1 of PlayList #1is displayed with a full-screen image during the start-up delay of theapplication, namely during a period between immediately after the startof the Title and immediately before the application gets into theoperation status. When the application #1 gets into the operation statusat time t1, a composite image gj2 is displayed, where the compositeimage gj2 is composed of: the playback image of the PL as a childscreen; and the execution image of the application as a parent screen.The execution image of the application in this example is a screen for agame in which a Start button, a Continue button, and a Power indicatorare arranged. And the execution image of the application is displayed asa Java™ application executes a process of drawing an image on theinteractive graphics plane 12. To execute the process of drawing, theJava™ application requires a library for drawing graphics and character.Thereafter, the parent-child screen is displayed in so far as theexecution of the application and the playback of the PL are performed atthe same time.

In this example, the application #1 then terminates abnormally, and theapplication manager 36 detects this abnormal termination at time t2. Thearrow br1 symbolically indicates the detection. When this happens, theapplication manager 36 converts the playback image of the PL intofull-screen in step S20. In FIG. 40, this conversion into full-screen isperformed at time t3. As shown on the right-hand side of the first row,a playback image gj3 is displayed with a full-screen image.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, with thearrangement of setting the playback attribute to AutoPlay in thePlayList management table, even if it takes 5 to 10 seconds for astarted Java™ application to get into the operation status, something isdisplayed on the screen during the start-up. This status, in which“something is displayed on the screen”, alleviates the start-up delaythat occurs when a Title is started to be executed.

Also, if an application start-up failure occurs, or if an applicationterminates abnormally, the playback of a PlayList that is defined in thePlayList management table is continued, which provides the status inwhich “something is displayed on the screen”. With such an arrangement,the worst case scenario that the apparatus blacks out can be avoided.This gives a minimum sense of assurance to the maker of the apparatus.

Embodiment 2

Embodiment 2 relates to an improvement in which the recovery process foran error termination is defined during the authoring. To define such arecovery process, in the recording medium of the present embodiment, anerror management table is provided in one BD-J. Object. FIG. 41A showsthe internal structure of the BD-J. Object. As shown in FIG. 41A, theBD-J Object contains an error management table (Error ManagementTable[bobj_id]) in addition to the application and PlayList managementtables. FIG. 41B shows the internal structure of the error managementtable. As shown in FIG. 41B, the error management table is composed ofas many pieces of recovery information (recovery( )) as indicated byNumber_of_recovery. The lead line “em1” in FIG. 41B indicates a closeupof the internal structure of a given piece of recovery information thatis identified by an identifier “recovery_id”. The given piece ofrecovery information indicated by the lead line “em1” is composed of: areference value “Apli_id_ref” that identifies uniquely an identifier ofan application that corresponds to the piece of recovery information;and five flags “Restart_Application_flag”, “Continuous_Playback_flag”,“Select_Title_flag”, “Notify_Event_flag”, and “Reboot_flag”. FIG. 42shows the meaning of the five flags. The following describes the meaningof the five flags in the error management table.

The “Restart_Application_flag”, when set to “0”, indicates that theapplication is not restarted when it terminates abnormally, and when setto an integer “n” other than “0”, indicates that the restart is repeatedn times. The default value of this flag is “0”.

The “Continuous_Playback_flag”, when set to “0”, indicates that aplayback of a PlayList is not continued when the application terminatesabnormally, and when set to an integer “1”, indicates that a playback ofa PlayList is continued when the application terminates abnormally, andwhen set to an integer “2”, indicates that a playback of a PlayList iscontinued with a full-screen image at a normal speed when theapplication terminates abnormally. The default value of this flag is“0”.

The “Select_Title_flag”, when set to “0”, indicates that no branchbetween Titles is performed when the application terminates abnormally,and when set to an integer “n” other than “0”, indicates that thecurrent Title jumps to a Title identified by “n” as the Title number.The default value of this flag is “0”.

The “Notify_Event_flag”, when set to “0”, indicates that no event isoutput when the application terminates abnormally, and when set to aninteger “n” other than “0′, indicates that an event with an event number“n” is output. The default value of this flag is “1”.

The Reboot_flag”, when set to “0”, indicates that a bootstrap of theplayback apparatus is not performed when the application terminatesabnormally, and when set to an integer “1”, indicates that a bootstrapof the playback apparatus is performed.

It is possible to define, by the above-described flags during theauthoring in advance, the recovery process that is to be executed whenan application terminates abnormally. Now, a specific example of thedescription of the error management table will be provided. FIG. 43Ashows two Titles (Title #1, Title #2) in which the error managementtable is written. In the application management table for Title #1,application #1 is written as an AutoRun application. And in the errormanagement table for Title #1, a piece of recovery information, which isused when the application #1 terminates abnormally, is written. In thePlayList management table for Title #1, PlayList #1 is written as anAutoPlay PlayList.

In the application management table for Title #2, application #2 iswritten as an AutoRun application. And in the error management table forTitle #2, a piece of recovery information for the application #2 iswritten.

FIG. 43B shows the progress of an execution of an application and aplayback of a PlayList that are performed in accordance with theapplication and error management tables shown in FIG. 43A. Since therecovery information of the application #1 indicatesContinuous_Playback_Flag=2, the playback of a PlayList is continued witha full-screen image at a normal speed when the application #1 terminatesabnormally.

On the other hand, the recovery information of the application #2indicates Notify_Event_Flag=2, an event with number “2” is output whenthe application #2 terminates abnormally.

With such description of the recovery information, the process that isperformed when an application terminates abnormally can be defined foreach Title and for each application.

With the addition of the error management table to the BD-J Object, theapplication manager 36 of the present embodiment performs the processesin accordance with the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 44 and 45. FIG. 44 is aflowchart that shows the procedures of the application manager 36 inEmbodiment 2. This flowchart includes, as is the case with FIG. 39, amain loop that is composed of steps S1, S2, S3, and S4. When a Title isselected in the main loop, the processes of the steps S21 to S27 areperformed.

In step S21, the application manager 36 causes the PLMT Processor 41 tojudge whether or not there is the PlayList management table in thebranch destination Title. If there is the PlayList management table inthe branch destination Title, the application manager 36 causes theplayback control engine 32 to start a playback of a PL that is notplayed back in the branch source Title and has the AutoPlay attribute inthe branch destination Title (step S22), and then judges whether or notthe playback is successful (step S23). If it is judged that the playbackis successful in step s23, the processes of steps S25 to S28 areperformed. If it is judged that the playback is not successful in steps23, the control moves to the flowchart shown in FIG. 45.

If there is no PlayList management table in the branch destinationTitle, the application manager 36 causes the playback control engine 32to stop a playback of a PL that is being performed in the branch sourceTitle (step S24), and performs the processes of steps S25 to S28.

In step S25, it is judged whether or not there is the applicationmanagement table in the branch destination Title. If there is theapplication management table in the branch destination Title, theapplication manager 36 starts an AutoRun application in the branchdestination Title (step S26), and in step S27, judges whether or not theapplication was successfully started. If it is judged that theapplication was successfully started in step s27, the control returns tothe loop composed of steps S1 to S4. If it is judged that theapplication was not successfully started in step s27, the control movesto the flowchart shown in FIG. 45.

The flowchart of FIG. 45 shows the procedure that is performed when anapplication terminates abnormally. In step S30, it is judged whether ornot there is the error management table in the Title to which theapplication that has terminated abnormally belongs. If it is judged thatthere is no error management table in the Title in step S30, the controlreturns to the loop composed of steps S1 to S4.

If it is judged that there is the error management table in the Title instep S30, the control moves to step S44 and then returns to the loopcomposed of steps S1 to S4. In step S31, it is judged whether theRestart_Application_flag in the error management table is not “0”. If itis judged that the Restart_Application_flag in the error managementtable is not “0”, a loop process composed of steps S40 to S44 isexecuted. In this loop process, the restart counter is set to a value“n” written in the Restart_Application_flag (step S40), and then theloop process composed of steps S41 to S44 is executed. The controlvariable in this loop process is the restart counter. When the restartcounter becomes “0” (YES in step S41) of when the application is startedsuccessfully (YES in step S44), this loop process ends. In this loopprocess, the restart counter is repeatedly decremented (step S42) andthe AutoRun application is repeatedly started in so far as it is judgedas No in step S41 or S44. Through this repetition, the application thatterminated abnormally is restarted. If it is judged that theRestart_Application_flag is “0”, step S32 is executed.

In step S32, it is judged whether the Continuous_Playback_flag is “0”,“1”, or “2”. If it is judged that the Continuous_Playback_flag is “2”,the playback image of the AutoPlay PL is displayed in full screen (stepS33), and the control returns to the main loop composed of steps S1 toS4.

If it is judged that the Continuous_Playback_flag is “1”, the playbackimage of the AutoPlay PL is continued in quarter (step S34), and thecontrol returns to the main loop composed of steps S1 to S4.

If it is judged that the Continuous_Playback_flag is “0”, the controlmoves to step S35.

In step S35, it is judged whether the select_title_flag in the errormanagement table is not “0”. If it is judged that the select_title_flagis “0”, the control moves to step S37. If it is judged that theselect_title_flag is not “0”, the branch destination Title is set to avalue “n” written in the select_title_flag (step S36), and the controlmoves to step S7 shown in FIG. 44.

In step S37, it is judged whether the Notify_Event_flag in the errormanagement table is not “0”. If it is judged that the Notify_Event_flagis “0”, the control moves to step S39. If it is judged that theNotify_Event_flag is not “0”, an event “n” that is identified by thevalue “n” of the Notify_Event_flag is generated (step S38), and thecontrol moves to the main loop composed of steps S1 to S4 shown in FIG.44. In step S39, it is judged whether the Boot_flag in the errormanagement table is not “0”. If it is judged that the Boot_flag is “0”,the control moves to the main loop composed of steps S1 to S4. If it isjudged that the Boot_flag is not “0”, the control moves to the start ofFIG. 44 and the bootstrap of the playback apparatus is executed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possiblefor a person in charge of authoring, not a manufacturer of theapparatus, to define how the playback apparatus should perform when anapplication terminates abnormally.

It should be noted here that a program, which performs a recoveryprocess when an application terminates abnormally during a playback of aTitle that does not have the error management table, may be embeddedinto the playback apparatus.

Also, an argument that specifies any of Restart_Application_Flag toReboot_Flag may be provided in the Title Jump API so that theapplication manager 36 can execute a recovery process that correspondsto the argument provided in the Title Jump API.

Embodiment 3

It is described in Embodiment 1 that the PlayList management table inthe BD-J Object can be used to define the playback of a PL in the Java™virtual machine. The present embodiment centers on the playback of a PLby the JMF method for application. A problem with this is the PlayListmanagement table. That is to say, since whether or not a PL can beplayed back is described in the PlayList management table, a PL may beplayable in some Titles, but not in other Titles. Also, there is a casewhere a playback of a PL, which is defined to be playable, from acertain type of application is desired to be prohibited from theviewpoint of the copyright protection. To achieve such restrictions onthe playback of PLs, in Embodiment 3, the permission controller 42 andthe application manager 36 perform the following processes.

If an application request a playback of a PL, the permission controller42 performs a mutual authentication with the application, and judgeswhether or not the application that requested the playback of the PL isauthorized to play back the PL. If the application is authorized to playback the PL, the permission controller 42 requests the playback controlengine 32 to play back the PL. If the application is not authorized toplayback the PL, the permission controller 42 outputs a response eventthat indicates that the request is not permitted to the application thatrequested the playback of the PL. With such judgment by the permissioncontroller 42 on whether or not the request from the application can bepermitted, if a PL that is distributed by a distributor is requested tobe played back from an application that is distributed by anotherdistributor, the request can be rejected. This enables a PL from beingplayed back by a not-authorized application. The judgment by thepermission controller 42 is based on the combinations of PLs to bepermitted and applications and the combinations of PLs not to bepermitted and applications, the combinations being defined in thePermission file that is recorded in the BD-ROM. Description of detailsof such a file is omitted here since it diverges away from the subjectof the present application.

In Embodiment 3, the application manager 36 notifies a PL that can beplayed back at the current playback point in time, in response to arequest from an application. FIG. 46 is a flowchart that shows theprocedures of the notification by the application manager 36. In thisflowchart, it is monitored whether or not an application issued arequest (Get PL) to notify a playable PL during the start-up of theapplication (step S45). If it is judged that the application issued sucha request, it is judged whether or not there is the PlayList managementtable in the BD-J Object that constitutes the Title to which the currentplayback point belongs (step S46). If it is judged that the applicationissued such a request, it is judged whether or not there is the PlayListmanagement table in the BD-J Object that constitutes the Title to whichthe current playback point belongs (step S46). If a PL is written in thePlayList management table, the PL written in the PlayList managementtable is notified, as a playable PL, to the application that requestedthe playback (step S47).

If a PL is not written in the PlayList management table, a notificationthat the playback of the PL is unavailable is sent to the applicationthat requested the playback (step S48). Up to now, the procedureperformed by the application manager 36 in Embodiment 3 has beendescribed.

The following describes the procedure performed by the applicationmanager 36 when a playback of a PL is requested. The application manager36 performs the processes in accordance with the flowchart shown in FIG.47, in Embodiment 3.

In FIG. 47, the application manager 36 judges whether or not there is anapplication that requested a playback of a PL (step S51). If anyapplication requests a playback of a PL, the application manager 36causes the permission controller 42 to perform an authentication tojudge whether the application that requested the playback is authorizedto play back the PL (step S52). If the application is authorized to playback the PL, the application manager 36 instructs the playback controlengine 32 to start the playback (step S53), and waits for a responsefrom the playback control engine 32 that indicates a success (step S54).

Upon receiving such a playback request, the playback control engine 32checks the authenticity of the PlayList information. The check includes:a check on whether the BD-ROM and the local storage 18 in which thePlayList information, Clip information, and AVClips are storedconstitute a proper PlayList; and the Clip information and an AvClipthat are specified by the clip_Information_file_name in the PlayListinformation are stored in the BD-ROM and the local storage 18. In thecase where a proper file is not referred to by theclip_Information_file_name or in the case where there is a contradictionin a virtual package that is composed of the BD-ROM and the localstorage 18, and a proper PlayList cannot be constructed, the playbackcontrol engine 32 returns a response that indicates “false”.

If a response “success” is returned after the above-described procedure,an event that indicates the success of the playback of the PL is outputto the application that requested the playback (step S55). If a response“success” is not returned, an event that indicates the failure of theplayback of the PL is output to the application that requested theplayback (step S56). On the other hand, if it is judged in step S52 thatthe application that requested the playback is not authorized to playback the PL, an event that indicates the unavailability of the playbackof the PL is output to the application that requested the playback (stepS57).

As described above, the present embodiment enables a playback of aPlayList to be performed properly in response to a request from anapplication if whether or not a PlayList can be played back is defineddifferently for each Title, and if some applications have authority toplayback a PlayList and others do not have the authority. This enables avariety of contents representation to be provided by combining theexecution of the application and the playback of the PlayList.

Embodiment 4

It is described in Embodiment 1 that it is possible to instruct theplayback apparatus to play back an AutoPlay PL at the start of a Title,by attaching a playback attribute “AutoPlay” to a PlayList desired to beplayed back. In contrast, the present embodiment relates to animprovement in which an unboundary application is recorded in theBD-ROM, and at the start of Title, the unboundary application is causedto select a Title to be automatically started.

Unboundary applications are applications that are on an equality withthe resident applications, such as the playback control engine 32, inthe playback apparatus, and execute, in response to a request from theplayback control engine 32, a process of selecting a piece of PlayListinformation that matches the PSR set value on the playback apparatusside, from a plurality of pieces of PlayList information written in thePlayList management table, and notifying the selected piece of PlayListinformation.

To cause an unboundary application to select a PL, all the playbackattributes in the PlayList management table are set to “nospecification” in regards with a Title that requires such a selection.This is because “All attributes no specification” is used as a triggerto let the playback control engine 32 to request the unboundaryapplication to select a PL.

The selection by the unboundary application is based on the selectionalgorithm that is defined during the authoring. FIGS. 48A to 48C show,in the form of table, the contents of the selection algorithm that isembedded in the unboundary application. The tables indicate the rangesof the PSR value in correspondence with PLs that are to be played backwhen the PSR takes the values. Of these, FIG. 48A shows the contents ofthe selection algorithm based on the parental level. The parental levelis set to PSR(13) in the playback apparatus. More specifically, aninteger that indicates the age of the user is set in the PSR(13), andthe playback apparatus regards the integer as the parental level. InFIG. 48A, the values that the PSR(13) can take are divided into threeranges: under 14; 14 and above and under 18; and 18 and above. Also, aPlayList to be played back is indicated for each of these ranges.Accordingly, based on such a selection algorithm, the unboundaryapplication selects PlayList #1 if the PSR set value is under 14,selects PlayList #2 if the PSR set value is 14 and above and under 18,and selects PlayList #3 if the PSR set value is 18 and above.

FIG. 48B shows the contents of the selection algorithm based on Languagefor Audio. The Language for Audio is set to PSR(16) in the playbackapparatus. More specifically, an integer is set in the PSR(16), and theplayback apparatus regards the integer that specifies a language foraudio playback. In FIG. 48B, the values that the PSR(16) can take aredivided into three ranges: English; Japanese; and others. Also, aPlayList to be played back is indicated for each of these ranges.Accordingly, based on such a selection algorithm, the unboundaryapplication selects PlayList #1 if the PSR(16) set value indicatesEnglish, selects PlayList #2 if the PSR(16) set value indicatesJapanese, and selects PlayList #3 if the PSR(16) set value indicates alanguage other than English and Japanese.

FIG. 48C shows the contents of the selection algorithm based on PlayerConfiguration for Video. The Player Configuration for Video is set toPSR(14) in the playback apparatus. More specifically, an integer is setin the PSR(14), and the playback apparatus regards the integer thatspecifies an environment for video playback. In FIG. 48C, the valuesthat the PSR(14) can take are divided into three ranges: resolution525×600 TVsystem LetterBox; resolution 525×600 TVsystem; and resolution1920×1080 TV system. Also, a PlayList to be played back is indicated foreach of these ranges. Accordingly, based on such a selection algorithm,the unboundary application selects PlayList #1 if the PSR(14) set valueindicates resolution 525×600 Tvsystem LetterBox, selects PlayList #2 ifthe PSR(14) set value indicates resolution 525×600 TVsystem, and selectsPlayList #3 if the PSR(14) set value indicates resolution 1920×1080TVsystem. The selection algorithms such as those shown in FIGS. 48A to48C can be created by describing conditional branches as shown in FIGS.48A to 48C in a computer description language.

Up to now, an improvement on a recording medium in the presentembodiment has been described. The following describes an improvement ona playback apparatus in the present embodiment. This improvement ismainly composed of improvement on the application manager 36 and theplayback control engine 32.

Upon an occurrence of a branch between Titles, the application manager36 refers to the PlayList management table and judges whether or notthere is an AutoPlay PL in the PlayList management table. If there is noAutoPlay PL, the application manager 36 transfers the PlayListmanagement table to the playback control engine 32, and requests theplayback control engine 32 to automatically play back a PL that iswritten in the PlayList management table.

The playback control engine 32, upon receiving the PlayList managementtable, requests the unboundary application to select PLs. Upon receivingfrom the unboundary application a list of playable PLs that is sent inresponse to the request, the playback control engine 32 judges whetheror not there is a PL among those in the list that is written in thePlayList management table transferred from the PlayItem. And if there isa PL, among those selected by the unboundary application, that iswritten in the PlayList management table, the playback control engine 32automatically plays back the PL.

FIG. 49 is an illustration of the process in which the Title unboundaryapplication selects PLs. On the left-hand side of FIG. 49, the layerstructure of software in the playback apparatus is shown. On theright-hand side of FIG. 49, the contents of the BD-ROM are shown. InFIG. 49, the signs ⊚1, ⊚2, ⊚3, ⊚4 represent the following: anotification from the application manager 36 that there is no AutoPlayin the PlayList management table (⊚1); a request by the playback controlengine 32 to indicate playable PLs (⊚2); acquisition of PSR set valuesby the Title unboundary application (⊚3); and notification of playablePLs from the Title unboundary application to the playback control engine32 (⊚4).

It should be noted here that in FIG. 49, the Title unboundaryapplication is written on the BD-ROM for the sake of convenience. Sincethe Title unboundary application is a Java™ application, the descriptionthat is closer to reality would be that the Title unboundary applicationis executed as an instance by the threads 55 in the work memory 54 inthe Java™ virtual machine 38.

According to the present embodiment as described above, such anapplication that lives at a boundary between Titles is caused to makethe above-described judgment. This enables the playback control engine32 in the playback apparatus to recognize, at an early stage after aTitle is started, a PL that satisfies conditions set in the playbackapparatus, among a plurality of PLs recorded on the BD-ROM. This makesit possible to determine a PL that is to be played back at the start ofthe Title, even without determining an application having the playbackattribute “AutoPlay” in advance. It is possible to achieve, even in theBD-J mode, playback controls such as the language credit and theparental lock.

It should be noted here that although in the present embodiment, theselection algorithms correlate PSR values with PlayLists, a PlayListthat is to be played back when a PSR set value in the playback apparatusis beyond the scope of assumption may be defined in advance.

Embodiment 5

In Embodiment 4, the Title unboundary application has a selectionalgorithm for selecting a PL to be played back in accordance with a PSRset value. The present embodiment relates to an improvement in whichwhen a PL has a multi-angle period, the Title unboundary application iscaused to select an angle among a plurality of angles that are availablein the multi-angle period. The Title unboundary application in thepresent embodiment correlates a plurality of ranges of PSR values withangles to be played back. In the present embodiment, when the currentplayback point in time is in a multi-angle period, the playback controlengine 32 requests the Title unboundary application to select an angleto be played back. Upon receiving such a request, the Title unboundaryapplication acquires a PSR value that is currently set, executes aselection algorithm, and selects an angle that corresponds to theacquired set value. The Title unboundary application notifies theplayback control engine 32 of the result of the selection, so that theplayback control engine 32 plays back the selected angle.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possiblefor a person in charge of authoring to define an algorithm that is usedto select an angle in correspondence with a PSR value. This enables theperson in charge of authoring to create various applications using theangles.

Embodiment 6

Embodiment 6 relates to an improvement on the achievement of asynchronization with the playback of a PL in the BD-J mode. The playbackcontrol engine 32, when the PlayPLAPI function is called, executes theprocedure based on the PL information. If the PL has a playback periodof two hours, the above-described procedure is continued for these twohours. A problem with this is a gap between the time at which the Java™virtual machine 38 returns a response “success” and the time at whichthe playback control engine 32 actually ends the process. The Java™virtual machine 38, which mainly performs event-driven processes,returns a response that indicates a success or failure, immediatelyafter a call. However, since the playback control engine 32 actuallyends the process after two hours, the end of the process cannot beconfirmed by the response “success” that is returned immediately after acall. If a Fast Forward, Backward, or Skip is performed during theplayback of a PL, the period changes from two hours to less than or morethan two hours. When this happens, it becomes more difficult torecognize the end of the process.

The playback control engine 32 operates stand alone, independent of theapplications. As a result, the application manager 36 cannot accuratelydetermine the time at which a playback of a PL ends. For this reason, inthe present embodiment, whether the application has terminated or not,in so far as there is a JMF player instance in the work memory, that isto say, in so far as the BD-J module 35 is authorized to control thepresentation engine 31, a notify event from the playback control engine32 is waited for. If a notify event is received from the playbackcontrol engine 32, it is determined that the Title has terminated, andthe module manager 34 is instructed to branch to the next Title. Withsuch an arrangement, the time at which the playback control engine 32ends a playback of a PL is recognized as the time at which a Titleterminates.

The following specifically describes the control procedures performed bythe playback control engine 32 with reference to the flowcharts shown inFIGS. 50 to 54.

FIG. 50 is a flowchart showing the PL playback procedure performed bythe playback control engine 32. The playback procedure mainly includesthe control on the presentation engine 31 (step S106) and the control onthe BD-ROM drive 1 or the local storage 18 (step S108). In thisflowchart, the processing target PlayItem is indicated as PlayItem #x.In this flowchart, first the current PL information (.mpls) is read(step S101), and the processes of steps S102 to S110 are executed. Thesteps S102 to S110 constitute a loop process in which the processes ofsteps S103 to S110 are repeated for each piece of PI informationconstituting the current PL information until it is judged as YES instep S109. In the loop process, the processing target PlayItem isindicated as PlayItem #x (PI#x). The PlayItem #x is initialized when thePlayItem at the start of the current PL is set to the PlayItem #x (stepS102). The condition for the above-mentioned loop process to end is thatit is judged that the PlayItem #x is the last PlayItem in the current PL(step S109). If the PlayItem #x is not the last PlayItem in the currentPL, the next PlayItem in the current PL is set to the PlayItem #x (stepS110).

The steps S103 to S110 are repeatedly executed in the loop process asfollows. The Clip information specified by theClip_information_file_name of the PlayItem #x is read into the scenariomemory 25 (step S103). The In_time of the PlayItem #x is converted intoan I-Picture address “u” using the EPmap of the current Clip information(step S104). The Out_time of the PlayItem #x is converted into anI-Picture address “v” using the EPmap of the current Clip information(step S105). An address that is obtained by subtracting “1” from thenext I-Picture address of the I-Picture address “v” is set to address“W” (step S107). The BD-ROM drive 1 or the local storage 18 isinstructed to read TS packets from the locations at the I-Pictureaddress “u” to the address “W” (step S108).

On the other hand, the presentation engine 31 is instructed to outputdata ranging from the mark_time_stamp of the current PLMark to theOut_time of the PlayItem #x (step S106). With the execution of the stepsS105 to S108, a portion of AVClip that is specified by the PlayItem #xis played back.

After this, it is judged whether or not the PlayItem #x is the lastPlayItem in the current PL (step S109).

If it is judged that the PlayItem #x is not the last PlayItem in thecurrent PL, the next PlayItem in the current PL is set to the PlayItem#x (step S110), and the control returns to step S103. Theabove-described steps S103 to S110 are repeated to play back in sequencethe PlayItems that constitute the PL.

FIG. 51 is a flowchart showing the angle change procedure and theprocedure for SkipBack/SkipNext. This flowchart is executed in parallelwith the process procedure shown in FIG. 50, and a loop process composedof steps S111 to S112 is repeated. In step S111 in this loop, it isjudged whether or not an API that requests an angle change was calledfrom the Java™ virtual machine 38. And if it is judged that an APIrequesting an angle change was called, the current Clip information ischanged to another.

In step S115 of FIG. 51, it is judged whether or not the is_multi_anglesof the PlayItem #x is ON. The is_multi_angles is a flag indicatingwhether or not the PlayItem #x is ready for the multi-angle. If it isjudged as NO in step S115, the control moves to step S113. If it isjudged as YES in step S115, steps S116 to S119 are executed. The stepsS116 to S119 are executed as follows. The angle number after the anglechange is substituted into a variable “y” (step S116). A piece of ClipInformation, which is specified by “y”th Clip_information_file_name inthe PlayItem #x, is read into the scenario memory 21 (step S117). Thecurrent PTM is converted into an I-Picture address “u” using the EP_mapof the current Clip information (step S118). The Out_time of thePlayItem #x is converted into an I-Picture address “v” using the EP_mapof the current Clip information (step S119). After the I-Pictureaddresses “u” and “v” are changed as described above, the process shownin FIG. 50 that is executed simultaneously with the present process isstopped, and then the control moves to step S106. With the move to stepS106, TS packets are read from another AVClip, and the video contentsare changed.

On the other hand, in step S112 in the loop of FIG. 51, it is judgedwhether or not a SkipBack/SkipNext API was called from the Java™ virtualmachine 38. And if it is judged that the SkipBack/SkipNext API wascalled, the process procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. 52 isexecute. FIG. 52 is a flowchart showing the process procedure that isexecuted when it is judged that the SkipBack/SkipNext API was called.The process procedure for executing the SkipBack or the SkipNext is ofgreat variety. It should be noted therefore that only an example of suchis described here.

In step s121, the current Mark information is obtained by converting thecurrent PI number indicated by the PSR, and the current PTM. In steps122, it is judged whether the depressed is the SkipNext key or theSkipBack key. If the SkipNext key was depressed, the direction flag isset to“+1” in step S123. If the SkipBack key was depressed, thedirection flag is set to “−1” in step S124.

In step s125, the current PL Mark number is set to a number that isobtained by adding the current PL Mark number to the value of thedirection flag. Here, if the SkipNext key was depressed, the directionflag is set to “+1”, and therefore the current PL Mark is incremented;if the SkipBack key was depressed, the direction flag is set to “−1”,and therefore the current PL Mark is decremented.

In step s126, the PI described in the ref_to_PlayItem_Id of the currentPL Mark is set to the PlayItem #x. In step S127, the Clip informationspecified by the Clip_information_file_name of the PlayItem #x is read.In step S128, the mark_time_stamp of the current PL Mark is convertedinto the I-Picture address “u” using the EP_map of the current Clipinformation. On the other hand, in step S129, the Out_time of thePlayItem #x is converted into the I-Picture address “v” using the EP_mapof the current Clip information. In step S130, the presentation engine31 is instructed to output data ranging from the mark_time_stamp of thecurrent PL Mark to the Out_time of the PlayItem #x. The process shown inFIG. 50 that is executed simultaneously with the present process isstopped, and then the control moves to step S107 of FIG. 50. In thisway, the control moves to step S107 after the I-Picture addresses “u”and “v” are changed and a playback of another portion is instructed.With the move to step S107, TS packets are read from another AVClip, andthe video contents are changed.

FIG. 53 is a flowchart that shows the process procedure of thepresentation engine 31 in detail. In this flowchart, after the PTS ofthe I-Picture is set to the current PTM (step S131), a loop processcomposed of steps S132 to S137 is executed.

The following describes the loop process composed of steps S132 to S137.In this loop process, the output of the picture and audio correspondingto the current PTM and the update of the current PTM are repeated. Inthe loop process, step S136 defines a necessary condition for the loopprocess to end. That is to say, step S136 defines that it is necessaryfor the loop process to end that the current PTM is the Out_time of thePI #x.

In step S133, it is judged whether or not a FastForward API of aFastBackward API was called from the Java™ virtual machine 38. If it isjudged that a FastForward API of a FastBackward API was called, it isjudged in step S138 whether the called API is FastForward orFastBackward. If it is FastForward, the PTS of the next I-Picture is setto the current PTM (step S139). By setting the current PTM to the PTS ofthe next I-Picture, it is possible to playback the AVClip forwardskipping every one second. With this arrangement, the AvClip is playedback in the forward direction at the double speed or the like. In thecase of FastBackward, it is judged whether or not the current PTM hasreached the Out_time of the PlayItem #x (step S140). If it is judgedthat the current PTM has not reached the Out_time of the PlayItem #x,the PTS of the previous I-Picture is set to the current PTM (step S141).In this way, by setting the read destination address A to the previousI-Picture, it is possible to play back the AVClip backward skippingevery one second. With this arrangement, the AVClip is played back inthe backward direction at the double speed or the like. The processprocedure for executing the FastForward or FastBackward is of greatvariety. It should be noted therefore that only an example of such isdescribed here.

In step S134, it is judged whether or not a menu call API was called. Ifit is judged that a menu call API was called, the current playbackprocess is suspended (step S142), and the menu program for the menuprocess is executed (step S143). With this process, when a menu call isperformed, the playback process is suspended, and the menu program forthe menu process is executed.

In step S135, it is judged whether or not there is a SubPlayItem #y forwhich PlayItem #x is specified in sync_PlayItem_id. If it is judged thatthere is such a SubPlayItem #y, the control moves to the flowchart shownin FIG. 54. FIG. 54 is a flowchart showing the process procedure of theSubPlayItem. In this flowchart, first in step S146, it is judged whetheror not the current PTM is Sync_start_PTS_of_PlayItem of Sub PI #y. If itis judged that the current PTM is Sync_start_PTS_of_PlayItem of Sub PI#y, the control moves to step S153 in which the playback control engine32 is instructed to perform the playback process in accordance with theSubPlayItem #y.

If it is judged as YES in step S136, steps S144 and S145 are executed.In step S144, it is judged whether or not both of the following weresatisfied: (i) the Notify End Of File event was output from the virtualfile system 30; and (ii) the Notify End Of Decoding event was outputfrom the decoder. If both were satisfied, the Notify End Of Stream eventis output to the playback control engine 32.

The steps S147 to S152 of FIG. 54 constitute a flowchart that shows theprocess procedure that is based on the SubPlayItem #y.

In step S147, the Clip information specified by theClip_information_file_name of the SubPlayItem #y is read. In step S148,the In_time of the SubPlayItem #y is converted into address α using theEP_map of the current Clip information. In step S149, the Out_time ofthe SubPlayItem #y is converted into address β using the EP_map of thecurrent Clip information. In step S150, the decoder is instructed tooutput In_time to Out_time of the SubPlayItem #y. An address that isobtained by subtracting “1” from the next I-Picture address of theI-Picture address β is set to address γ (step S151). The BD-ROM drive 1or the local storage 18 is instructed to read TS packets from thelocations at the address α to the address γ in the SubClip #z (stepS152).

Now, back to FIG. 50, the description of the process of the playbackcontrol engine 32 will be continued. In step S19, it is judged whetheror not the playback control by the presentation engine 31 has completed.It is continued to be judged as NO in step S113 in so far as the processshown in the flowchart of FIG. 53 is performed upon the last PlayItem#x. When the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 53 is completed, itis judged as YES in step S113, and the control moves to step S114. Instep S114, the Notify event is output to the Java™ virtual machine 38.With this output, the Java™ virtual machine 38 can recognize elapse oftwo hours in the playback.

According to the present embodiment as described above, the applicationmanager 36 can recognize the time at which the playback has continuedfor two hours. This enables the application manager 36 to instruct theJava™ virtual machine 38 to perform a process in synchronization withthe end of the playback of the PlayList.

Notes

The above description does not show all the embodiments of the presentinvention. The present invention can be achieved by the followingembodiments (A), (B), (C), (D), . . . . The invention defined in theclaims of the present application is expansion or generalization of theabove-described embodiments or modifications thereof. The level of theexpansion or generalization is based on the technical level in technicalfield of the present invention at the time the present application isfiled

(A) In all the embodiments described above, the optical disc forachieving the present invention is indicated as the BD-ROM. However, theoptical disc for achieving the present invention is characterized by thedynamic scenario recorded thereon and the IndexTable, and thesecharacteristics do not depend on the physical property of the BD-ROM.Accordingly, any recording medium on which the dynamic scenario and theIndexTable can be recorded is applicable to the present invention. Forexample, an optical disc such as DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R,DVD+RW, DVD+R, CD-R, and CD-RW, or a magneto-optical disk such as PD orMO may be used. Also, a semiconductor memory card such as the compactFlash™ card, smart media, memory stick, multimedia card, or PCM-CIA cardmay be used for the present invention. Also, (i) a magnetic recordingdisk such as the flexible disk, SuperDisk, Zip, or Clik!, or (ii) aremovable hard disk drive such as the ORB, Jaz, SparQ, SyJet, EZFley, ormicro-drive may be used for the present invention. Further, a hard diskthat is embedded in an apparatus may be used for the present invention.(B) In all the embodiments described above, the playback apparatusdecodes AVClips recorded on the BD-ROM before it outputs them to the TV.However, the playback apparatus may be composed of only a BD-ROM drive,and component elements other than the BD-ROM drive may be provided inthe TV. In this case, the playback apparatus and the TV may beincorporated into a home network to which they are connected by theIEEE1394. Also, in the embodiments described above, the playbackapparatus is of a type that requires, for use thereof, the playbackapparatus to be connected to a TV. However, the playback apparatus maybe of a type in which a display is built in the playback apparatus.Further, a portion of the playback apparatus that achieves an essentialprocess in each embodiment may be regarded as the playback apparatus ofthe present invention. Such playback apparatuses are each an inventiondescribed in the present application. And therefore, an act ofmanufacturing a playback apparatus based on the internal structure ofthe playback apparatus shown in each embodiment should be regarded as apractice of the invention that is described in the present application.Also, an act of transferring either for profit or for free (the case of“for profit” being selling, the case of “for free” being giving),lending, or importing the playback apparatus shown in each embodimentshould be regarded as a practice of the present invention. Further, Anact of offering, through an over-the-counter display, a catalog,distribution of a pamphlet or the like, the transferring or lending ofthe playback apparatus to the general user should also be regarded as apractice of the present invention.(C) The program whose process procedure is shown in each flowchart isregarded as an independent invention since the program uses concretehardware resources for the information processing performed by theprogram as shown in each flowchart. In the description of theachievement of the program of the present invention in each embodiment,the program is embedded in the playback apparatus. However, the programmay be separated from the playback apparatus and may be used as aseparate entity to realize the independent program shown in eachembodiment. Such a practice of the present invention using the programshown in each embodiment as a separate entity is classified into, forexample: (1) an act of manufacturing the program; (2) an act oftransferring the program either for profit or for free; (3) an act oflending the program; (4) an act of importing the program; (5) an act ofproviding the public with the program via a bi-directional electroniccommunication line; and (6) an act of offering, through anover-the-counter display, a catalog, distribution of a pamphlet or thelike, transferring or lending of the program to the general user.(D) The time-related elements that are executed in time series in thesteps of each flow chart are considered to be essential in identifyingthe present invention. It is considered therefore that the proceduresshown in the flow charts disclose the use form of the playback method.It is therefore needless to say that implementing the steps of theflowcharts in time series to achieve an object of the present invention,obtaining the actions and effects of the present invention, is regardedas a practice of the present invention.(E) When AVClips are recorded on the BD-ROM, it is desirable that anextension header is attached to each TS packet that constitutes theAVClips. The extension header is called TP_extra_header, includes“Arribval_Time_Stamp” and “copy_permission_indicator”, and has a datalength of four bytes. The TS packets with the TP_extra_header (hereinafter referred to as TS packets with EX) are divided into groups of 32,and are written into three sectors. Each group of 32 TS packets with EXhas 6144 bytes (=32×192). This size of each group matches the size ofeach of the three sectors that is 6144 bytes (=2048×3). Each group of 32TS packets with EX stored in the three sectors is called “Aligned Unit”.

In use in a home network to which it is connected via the IEEE1394, aplayback apparatus 200 transmits the Aligned Unit with the followingtransmission process. That is to say, a device on the side of atransmitter removes the TP_extra_header from each of the playbackcontrol engine 32 TS packets with EX contained in the Aligned Unit,encodes each body of the TS packets in accordance with the DTCPstandard, and outputs the encoded TS packets. When outputting theencoded TS packets, the device inserts isochronous packets into theencoded TS packets. The positions of the isochronous packets to beinserted in the encoded TS packets are determined based on the timeindicated by the Arribval_Time_Stamp of the TP_extra_header. When the TSpackets are output, the playback apparatus 200 outputs DTCP_Descriptor.The DTCP_Descriptor indicates a copy permission/prohibition setting inthe TP_extra_header. Here, describing the DTCP_Descriptor to indicate“copy prohibition” prohibits the TS packets from being recorded by otherdevices during the use in the home network connected via the IEEE1394.

(F) In all the embodiments described above, the digital stream recordedon the recording medium is the AVClip. However, the digital stream maybe the VOB (Video Object) conforming to the DVD-Video standard or theDVD-Video Recording standard. The VOB is a program stream that isobtained by multiplexing video streams and audio streams, the programstream conforming to the ISO/IEC13818-1 standard. Also, the video streamin the AVClip may conform to the MPEG4 or WMV system. Further, the audiostream may conform to the Linear-PCM system, Dolby-AC3 system, MP3system, MPEG-AAC system, Dts, or WMA (Windows (™) media audio).(G) In all the embodiments described above, the video works may beobtained by encoding analog video signals that are broadcast by theanalog broadcasting. Also, the video works may be stream data that iscomposed of transport streams broadcast by the digital broadcasting.

Also, a content may be obtained by encoding analog/digital video signalsrecorded on the video tape. Further, a content may be obtained byencoding analog/digital video signals that are directly obtained from avideo camera. Further, a digital work may be obtained throughdistribution by a distribution server.

(H) The BD-J module 35 may be a Java™ platform that is embedded in adevice for receiving satellite broadcast. When the BD-J module 35 is theJava™ platform, the playback apparatus of the present invention alsoperforms processes as STB for MHP.

Further, the BD-J module 35 may be a Java™ platform that is embedded ina device for performing the process control of a mobile phone. When theBD-J module 35 is the Java™ platform, the playback apparatus of thepresent invention also performs processes as a mobile phone.

(I) in the layer model, the HDMV mode may be positioned on the BD-Jmode. This is because especially the analysis of the dynamic scenario inthe HDMV mode and the execution of the control procedure based on thedynamic scenario put light load on the playback apparatus, and there isno problem in executing the HDMV mode on the BD-J mode. Also, in thedevelopment process of the playback apparatus or a movie work, theoperations can be guaranteed by only one mode.

Further, the playback process may be executed only in the BD-J mode.This is because as shown in Embodiment 5, a playback control can beperformed in synchronization with a playback of a PL in the BD-J mode,and therefore the HDMV mode may not necessarily be provided.

(J) A branch between PLs may be achieved by providing a navigationcommand in an interactive graphics stream that is to be multiplexed intoan AVClip.

(K) in Embodiment 1, the Title unboundary application is defined as aTile whose life cycle extends over all the Titles that belong to oneBD-ROM. However, the Title unboundary application may be defined as aTile whose life cycle extends over all the Titles that belong to aplurality of BD-ROMs.(L) In Embodiment 1, in creating the application management table, it isdesirable that the number of applications that can be executedsimultaneously is restricted to, for example, 4 or less.

The reason why the number of applications that can be executedsimultaneously should be restricted to 4 or less is as follows. Thereare many BD-ROM playback apparatuses that are provided with a digitalbroadcast tuner function, and an application for achieving the tunerfunction is often resident in the memory. To make room for the residentapplication to operate, the number of applications that can be executedsimultaneously is restricted to 4 or less. It is desirable that amongthe four applications, the first is the Title unboundary application,the second is the Title boundary application, and the third is thechapter boundary application.

(M) In Embodiment 2, the error management table is defined such thatwhen one application terminates abnormally, one recovery process isperformed. However, when one application terminates abnormally, aplurality of recovery processes may be performed. That is to say, whenone application terminates abnormally, the playback apparatus mayperform a continuation of a playback of a PlayList, a restart of anapplication, and an output of an event.

Also, the error management table may be constructed such that onerecovery process is defined for each Title, not for each application.

(N) The AVClip can have an interactive graphics stream multiplexedtherein for displaying a menu and receiving an interactive operation viathe menu. Accordingly, the top menu Title may be created only bydescribing a navigation command, which only instructs to play back anAVClip for displaying the top menu and receiving an interactiveoperation, in the Movie Object(O) In each embodiment described above, the directory/file structure andthe data structure in the files are provided as examples. The managementinformation, which is one characteristic of the present invention, doesnot depend on the directory/file structure and the data structure in thefiles. Therefore, for example, the BD-J Object, which is an operationscenario in the BD-J mode, may be incorporated in the BDJA directory asa file (ZZZZZ.BD-J) having identifiers “bobj_id” and “BD-J”, and onlythe identifier “bobj_id” may be stored in the BD-J Object[n] ( ) of theBD-J. Object.bdmv.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The recording medium and the playback apparatus of the present inventionmay be used personally as in a home theater system. However, therecording medium and the playback apparatus of the present invention mayalso be used industrially since the internal structure thereof isdisclosed in the embodiments described above, and it is apparent thatthe recording medium and the playback apparatus of the present inventionwill be mass-produced. For this reason, the recording medium and theplayback apparatus of the present invention have industrialapplicability.

We claim:
 1. A non-transitory machine readable recording medium in whicha machine readable application program, a digital stream, a title, andmanagement information including plural pieces of play list informationwhich define playback: paths of the digital stream are recorded, themachine readable application program being a program written in aprogramming language which is readable by a virtual machine included ina machine, a life cycle during which the machine readable applicationprogram can be read and executed by the virtual machine being specified,and the management information includes first play list informationamong plural pieces of play list information, which defines a playbackpath of the digital stream and is requested to be played back by theapplication program that is executed by the virtual machine during thelife cycle.
 2. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium inwhich an application program written in a programming language, adigital stream, a title, and management information are recorded, themanagement information including first play list information whichdefines a playback path of the digital stream and is play listinformation that is requested to be played back by the applicationprogram that is executed by a virtual machine during a life cycle duringwhich the application program can be read and executed by the virtualmachine, the application program, the digital stream, the title, and themanagement information being read into a computer that includes: aplayback control engine operable to play back the digital stream that isrecorded in the recording medium and is related to the title recorded inthe recording medium; and a program module including the virtual machinethat executes the application program that has been read onto a workmemory from the recording medium, wherein when the life cycle, in whichthe virtual machine can execute the application program read onto thework memory, is reached within a playback period of the title recordedin the recording medium, the program module reads the applicationprogram from the recording medium onto the work memory and causes thevirtual machine to execute the application program, and upon receiving,from the application program executed by the virtual machine in the lifecycle, a request to play back the first play list information whichbeing play list information recorded in the recording medium, definesthe playback path of the digital stream related to the title and isrequested to be played back by the application program, the programmodule causes the playback control engine to play back the digitalstream in accordance with the playback path defined by the first playlist information.
 3. A playback apparatus, comprising: a playbackcontrol engine operable to play back a digital stream that is recordedin a recording medium and is related to a title recorded in therecording medium; and a program module including a virtual machine thatexecutes an application program that has been read onto a work memoryfrom the recording medium, wherein when a life cycle, in which thevirtual machine can execute the application program read onto the workmemory, is reached within a playback period of the title recorded in therecording medium, the program module reads the application program fromthe recording medium onto the work memory and causes the virtual machineto execute the application program, and upon receiving, from theapplication program executed by the virtual machine in the life cycle, arequest to play back first play list information which, being play listinformation recorded in the recording medium, defines a playback path ofthe digital stream related to the title and is requested to be playedback by the application program the program module causes the playbackcontrol engine to play back the digital stream in accordance with theplayback path defined by the first play list information.
 4. Anon-transitory recording medium in which a computer readable program isrecorded, the computer readable program causing the computer to perform:when a life cycle, in which an application program can be read onto awork memory of the computer and executed, is reached within a playbackperiod of a title recorded in the recording medium, reading theapplication program from the recording medium onto the work memory andcausing a virtual machine provided in the computer to execute theapplication program; and upon receiving, from the application program inthe life cycle a request to play back first play list information which,being play list information recorded in the recording medium, defines aplayback path of a digital stream related to the title and is requestedto be played back by the application program, playing back the digitalstream in accordance with the playback path defined by the first playlist information.
 5. A playback method for a playback apparatus, theplayback method comprising: when a life cycle, in which a virtualmachine can execute an application program read onto a work memory, isreached within a playback period of a title recorded in a recordingmedium, reading the application program from the recording medium ontothe work memory and causing the virtual machine to execute theapplication program; and upon receiving, from the application program inthe life cycle, a request to play back first a list information which,being lay list information recorded in the recording medium, defines aplayback path of a digital stream related to the title and is requestedto be played back by the application program, causing a playback controlengine to play back the digital stream in accordance with the playbackpath defined by the first play list information.
 6. A machine forplaying back a digital stream by executing a machine readableapplication which is recorded in a machine readable recording mediumaccording to claim
 1. 7. A computer for playing back a digital stream byexecuting an application program which is recorded in a computerreadable recording medium according to claim
 2. 8. A recording method,comprising: recording, in a machine readable recording medium, a machinereadable application program, a digital stream, and managementinformation including plural pieces of play list information whichdefine playback paths of the digital stream, the machine readableapplication program being a program written in a programming languagereadable by a virtual machine included in a machine, a life cycle duringwhich the machine readable application program can be read and executedby the virtual machine being specified, and the management informationincludes first play list information, among plural pieces of play listinformation, which defines a playback path of the digital stream and isrequested to be played back by the application program that is executedby the virtual machine during the life cycle.
 9. The playback method ofclaim 5, further comprising: when the life cycle is reached, playingback the digital stream in accordance with a playback path defined bysecond play list information which, being play list information recordedin the recording medium, defines the playback path of the digital streamrelated to the title that is to be played back simultaneously with theexecution of the application program, and upon receiving, from theapplication program, the request to play back the first play listinformation, causing the playback control engine to play back thedigital stream in accordance with the playback path defined by the firstplay list information instead of playing back the digital stream inaccordance with the playback path defined by the second play listinformation.